RFK Jr. Tried to Hide He Settled for a “Misconduct” Accusation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admitted to senators late Thursday that there was at least one incident in which he settled a case over inappropriate behavior.

The revelation came by way of a series of follow-up questions Democrats sent to the Department of Health and Human Services secretary nominee. Senators wanted to know if Kennedy had ever reached a legal settlement over accusations of misconduct.

Two questions in the list, obtained by Mother Jones, read as follows:

“Yes or no, have you ever reached a settlement agreement with an individual or organization that accused you of misconduct or inappropriate behavior?”

“Yes or no, have you ever agreed to or been subject to a non-disclosure agreement with any individual or organization?”

Kennedy answered yes to each one but offered no follow-up details.

Mother Jones reached out to Kennedy to elaborate on the answer, querying if the 71-year-old’s settlements had to do with previously reported allegations, such as claims that he allegedly groped his children’s babysitter, Eliza Cooney, in the late 1990s.

A spokesperson for Kennedy, Katie Miller, sent a brief reply to the publication: “As a matter of policy, we don’t respond to Mother Jones.”

Kennedy had denied Cooney’s accusation when asked about it during his Senate confirmation hearing. And when Senator Patty Murray asked if there were other instances where Kennedy made “sexual advances toward an individual without their consent,” he said, “No.”

Kennedy, a virulent vaccine conspiracy theorist, was tapped by Donald Trump to run the country’s health policy.

His private life has given pause to a number of lawmakers responsible for confirming him. Kennedy has publicly admitted to dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park, believed the 2004 presidential election was stolen from Democrat John Kerry, peddled conspiracies that the CIA killed his uncle, chainsawed off the head of a dead whale (per his daughter Kick Kennedy), and last week was described by his cousin Caroline Kennedy as a “predator” who is “addicted to attention and power.”

“I have known Bobby my whole life; we grew up together,” the former ambassador to Australia and Japan wrote in a letter to lawmakers obtained by The Washington Post.

“His basement, his garage, his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks,” she continued. “It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence.”

And Kennedy’s history in public health is questionable, at best. His stances, which include unscientific beliefs that AIDS is not caused by HIV and that a large number of vaccines should be stripped from the market, could have major impacts on the agency designed to protect America’s health, especially as bird flu outbreaks begin to dot the country.

On Wednesday, a career official at the U.S. Agency for International Development was placed on administrative leave after he undid an order from Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” to immediately fire several career employees at the agency.

Nicholas Gottlieb, the USAID’s director of employee and labor relations, sent an email Thursday reversing the terminations of dozens of senior USAID staff, calling the firings “illegal” and a violation of “due process.”

“You may receive another email within the day reinstating your leave status. However, that notice will not come from me,” Gottlieb wrote. “I wish you all the best—you do not deserve this.”

Gottlieb later emailed the rest of USAID’s staff to notify them that he was being placed on leave, telling them that “it is and has always been my office’s commitment to the workforce that we ensure all employees receive their due process in any of our actions.

“I will not be a party to a violation of that commitment,” Gottlieb wrote.

The Trump administration on Monday fired more than 50 senior USAID officials after accusing the agency of attempting to “circumvent” the president’s executive order freezing all foreign aid. Gottleib then intervened, and has been sidelined for his efforts.

Trump and Musk, through the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” have attempted to overhaul and slash the federal workforce, with poor results. What happened to Gottlieb is an example of the consequences for opposing the tech mogul and fascism enthusiast, as well as the president’s ill-thought-out executive orders. And just like the president’s firing of several agency inspectors general last week, it’s probably illegal. Will there be any consequences?

Less than 24 hours after Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, tried to convince Democrats he doesn’t have an “enemies list,” six senior FBI leaders were ordered to retire or resign if they don’t want to be fired by Monday, CNN reported.

Some of the officials, who oversee everything from cybersecurity to criminal investigations, were demoted during Patel’s Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, where he failed to clearly answer a number of questions about his plans to go after Trump’s enemies in the bureau.

The Trump loyalist has previously said he would shut down the FBI’s Hoover Building and “replace it with a mausoleum of the Deep State,” sparking concern that Patel would use his power to weaponize the country’s national security organization.

In recent weeks, the FBI Agents Association urged Patel not to punish agents investigating Trump and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Fear in the bureau escalated this week after Trump fired a number of career Justice Department lawyers who worked on his criminal cases, just the latest move in his gutting of the federal workforce.

On Thursday, Patel feigned ignorance of, but showed no regret about, his plans to go after the president’s adversaries.

“I have no interest, no desire, and will not, if confirmed, go backwards. There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI,” Patel said at the hearing, as several officials promoted by former FBI Director Christopher Wray were told to resign the same day.

Patel hopes to join alcoholic Pete Hegseth, fossil fuel ally Lee Zeldin, and former WWE executive Linda McMahon in Trump’s Cabinet.

President Donald Trump is warning a coalition of countries to find “another sucker nation” if they opt to move away from the U.S. dollar.

The major countries in BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—continue to use the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency and for international trade, ensuring America’s financial dominance on the world stage. But on Thursday night, despite the nation reeling from a tragic plane crash in Washington, Trump took to social media to threaten that arrangement, promising that the 10-country coalition (which includes some of America’s biggest trading partners) would face “100 percent tariffs” if it created a new BRICS currency to replace the dollar.

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.

“They can go find another sucker Nation,” he continued. “There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!”

In a statement to Newsweek, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation highlighted that it held the largest economy in Africa, while three other member states—China, India, and Brazil—are among the top 10 countries in the world by population, area, and gross domestic product. The department also emphasized that the major BRICS nations are members of the G20, alongside the United States, and continue to invest billions of U.S. dollars in international projects.

“BRICS leaders have called for a reformed international financial system to facilitate trade in local currencies,” the department said. “However, BRICS is not discussing the creation of a common BRICS currency.

“Instead, South Africa supports the increased use of national currencies in international trade and financial transactions to mitigate the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, rather than focusing on de-dollarisation.

“The strengthening of correspondent banking networks and the development of infrastructure for settlements in national currencies could further this aim,” they continued. “Enhancing BRICS payment systems to accommodate trading in local currencies does not imply de-dollarisation.”

Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination for director of national intelligence may be in serious jeopardy.

Multiple Senate Republicans have cooled on Gabbard, dashing hopes that she’d receive the same warm treatment the GOP gave Trump’s now Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a slightly more controversial pick. Though there are many national security concerns about Gabbard becoming the nation’s top intel chief, most of the conservative qualms about Gabbard appear to be due to her refusal to label NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden a “traitor” in her confirmation hearing Thursday.

“Do you believe, as the chairman of this committee believes, as the vast majority of members of our intelligence agencies believe, that Edward Snowden was a traitor to the United States of America?” asked Democratic Senator Michael Bennet. “He broke the law,” Gabbard replied, refusing to answer the question.

“I think it would befit you and be helpful to the way you are perceived by members of the intelligence community, if you would at least acknowledge that the greatest whistleblower in American history, so-called, harmed national security by breaking the laws of the land around our intel authority,” Republican Todd Young told Gabbard. He was “visibly frustrated” by Gabbard’s refusal to fully denounce Snowden.

Other Republicans echoed these sentiments.

“With Ms. Gabbard, I have said that it was like having a sheet of music that was missing notes.… There are many notes still missing and a number of sour notes and awkward silences that simply don’t ring true as a political philosophy on critical national security issues,” said Senator John Curtis after Gabbard’s confirmation hearing. “I leave today’s hearing with more questions than answers.”