Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s latest financial disclosure is raising ethics alarms over millions flowing from allies tied to his own health agenda. The filing shows that Kennedy received $4 million in book advances and upward of $270,000 in gifts over the past year, largely from publisher and longtime pal Tony Lyons, as well as from security expert Gavin de Becker, reports the New York Times. Both men are said to be deeply involved in Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) network and aligned with his skepticism of vaccines. De Becker has also expressed his support for ketamine, a drug that Kennedy has pushed as a treatment for depression.
Ethics specialists say the payments may run afoul of rules that bar officials from profiting off their positions. The Lyons-led MAHA Action nonprofit has also paid $210,000 in consulting fees to Kennedy's wife, Cheryl Hines, and raised corporate money from health companies with business before Kennedy's Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, de Becker, a major political donor, provided Kennedy with $126,000 in DC lodging and nearly $150,000 in international flights while also advocating on vaccines and ketamine, both of which HHS is reviewing.
The health agency says Kennedy is following all ethics requirements. Outside experts, however, say the scale and sources of the gifts create glaring conflicts of interest. The Independent notes that Kennedy may have enjoyed a brief spike in sales of his 2021 book about COVID and Dr. Anthony Fauci thanks to congressional hearings over the summer that put Fauci in the hot seat. Meanwhile, Kennedy has seen rising costs for his personal security, which sources tell the Wall Street Journal was partially funded with $12 million that HHS took out of the Office of Minority Health to cover the tab. More here on that.
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