RFK JR. He says that he will not maintain financial shares in HPV vaccine processes

During the intensive interrogation on Thursday by members of the Senate Health Committee on his plan to maintain financial shares in huge vaccine disputes, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He said that he would give him his rights to fees that may come out of him.

It seems that this is the reversal of the details of the government’s ethical agreement, which he submitted to interrogations regarding confirmation of the Senate to become the secretary of the nation’s health.

Last week, ethics The agreement he gave to Senators stated that he would keep their share in the continuation of the dispute, which means that if it is confirmed, he can receive payments, supervising the huge health bureaucracy in the US, which includes the regulation of pharmaceutical companies. The financial disclosure stated that Mr. Kennedy charges Wisner Baum, a law firm based in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kennedy said that he sent hundreds of customers to a company that sued the Merck drug manufacturer to say that newborn people were injured by Gardasil vaccine, aimed at preventing cervical cancer caused by human papilloma or HPV. In an ethical statement, he informed: “I am entitled to 10 percent of fees granted” in cases that referred to Wisner Baum.

Legislators considering his confirmation on Wednesday and Thursday condemned the financial agreement, and many democrats suggest that this is an integral conflict, because he would be able to financially gain decisions that he made as a health secretary who involved pharmaceutical companies.

“I gave all my rights to all fees in this process,” said Kennedy on Thursday. When asked to develop, Katie Miller, spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy, said that she “does not keep fees.”

But she did not answer additional questions about whether the agreement with the office in order to pay Mr. Kennedy a 10 % emergency fee – depending on the result of any settlement or sentence – will be somehow changed or changed to redirect each payment. It is possible that it can be placed in a kind of trust or narrow responsibility or a family member. Funds can also be dispersed to other lawyers in the company. (Conor Kennedy, son of Kennedy, He is a lawyer in Wisner Baum.)

The US Government Ethics Office, which tends to approve nomine contracts, and Wisner Baum did not immediately answer the questions on Thursday. Ethics office reminded the nominees of the government that they must remove substantive changes to their contracts.

On Wednesday widespread clip Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat Massachusetts, outlined how Kennedy can affect lawsuits.

During her interrogation, Mr. Kennedy would not commit himself to depart from any influence from Gardasil, saying that he had warned the principles of ethics.

“Kennedy can kill access to vaccines and earn millions of dollars when he does it,” said Warren. “Children may die, but Robert Kennedy can still earn.”

On Thursday, during the second hearing, Senator Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat, raised the thread, talking about how effective HPV vaccine prevented cervical cancer.

“You said it actually increases the risk of cervical cancer. Do you stand with these statements? “Mrs. Murray asked.

Mr. Kennedy did not answer directly, saying that the case was before the jury this week. Lawyers Wisner Baum represent a newborn plaintiff who claims she suffered from Blood circulation disorder After receiving the HPV vaccine in the process that began this month in California.

Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, continued on Thursday a line of questions, citing a number of positive research on Gardasil, which, as he said, is produced in Virginia. He asked about the decision of Mr. Kennedy to maintain participation in the dispute.

“How do people who must trust federal vaccine vaccine programs trust that you are independent and study based when you can achieve significant financing, if the lawsuits against vaccine producers are successful?” Mr. Kaine asked.

For the first time, Mr. Kennedy publicly revealed that he had resigned.

Public documents show that Mr. Kennedy has earned around $ 2.5 million from his work with Wisner Baum since 2022.

After the indicated questions of Senator Warren’s regarding potential conflicts regarding the financial interests of Mr. Kennedy in matters against drug creators, Wisner Baum published a statement in which, that $ 2.5 million payments were related to the work of Mr. Kennedy in matters regarding the summary of the weed killer and others related to fires. The company said that none of these amounts was associated with vaccine disputes.