During his confirmation hearings to become the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in January 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made statements under oath that were later contradicted by his actions. For instance, he:
- Claimed he would not limit access to vaccines but later, he did in many ways the opposite.
- Denied being “anti-vaccine,” yet later, he even refused to state that vaccines do not cause autism and criticized or abolished long-standing public health guidelines.
- Insisted he had reliquished his financial interest in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, but refused to answer questions about a 10% stake in any settlement agreements.
- Said he would devote “appropriate resources” to preventing a future pandemic, but later, he announced significant cuts to health research across the US.
Lying under oath is perjury, a felony under US federal law. It is punishable by prison sentence of up to five years!
Kennedy is, of course, in ‘good company’: a number of Trump’s seem also guity of perjury; here are but a few examples.
- Jeff Sessions, Attorney General: During his confirmation hearing, he was asked if he or anyone in the Trump campaign had any contact with Russian officials during the 2016 election. He stated that he had not. It was later revealed that he had, in fact, met with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
- Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Pruitt testified that he had never used a private email account to conduct official business as Oklahoma’s attorney general. Later reports showed that obtained emails showing he did use a personal account for official business.
- Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education: During her hearing, DeVos stated she had not been involved with her family’s foundation that had given millions to groups opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Later tax filings revealed that she had been the vice president of the foundation’s board for 17 years.
- Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury: Mnuchin testified that his former bank, OneWest Bank, had not used “robo-signing” to improperly foreclose on homeowners. Later, numerous reports and a judge’s ruling showed that the bank’s employees had signed foreclosure documents in bulk.
- Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services: Price insisted that a special discount he received on a biotech stock was available to all investors. Later, a report revealed that fewer than 20 investors were offered the same discount.
- Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense: During his confirmation hearings, Hegseth trivialized his previous statements against women in military combat roles. This is an overt contradiction of his long-held views.
So, are these officials guilty of perjury?
To me, there seems to be little doubt.
Why are they not on trial or in prison?
Is it because MAGA and the Trump administration have succeeded not only in vandalized US science and public health, but also in suspending the rule of law?
I hope not!
26 Responses to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [and several of his colleagues] guilty of perjury?
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Trump/MAGA has done (and is still doing) something that is in my opinion even far more dangerous: Trump has de facto declared that facts, truth and basic human ethics no longer matter, nor does competence, expertise or experience in anyone that he deals with.
– If something happens that Trump doesn’t like, he will simply lie about it.
– Is someone says or does something that Trump doesn’t like, then that person is fired and/or punished in retribution.
– If an organization has a policy that Trump doesn’t like, then that organization is extorted or punished until it complies with Trump’s demands.
– Anyone in Trump’s orbit who is not 100% aligned with Trump’s infantile views and ditto policies is fired and replaced with someone whose only job requirement is absolute loyalty and submission to Trump.
And all this is even being implemented retroactively:
– Anyone who has ever been Trump’s opponent in any way must now fear retribution.
– American history is being rewritten as we speak, with anything that Trump doesn’t like (e.g. the mentioning of slavery and suffering of black people) being erased or described in a positive light.
– And of course the 2020 elections were won by Trump – and this lie must now even be taught in schools in some conservative states.
The longer this goes on, the more the US democracy is becoming a nightmarish society in North-Korean style, where everyone is living in fear of the Big Leader whose every whim must be fulfilled, or else punishment will follow.
… so sad – and so dangerous for us all!
It seems that under the present administration perjury is the new normal, pre-pardoned by default.
I fear you might be right.
@Ole Kjellin
It’s quite simple, really: it is by definition impossible for Trump or his loyal entourage to lie. Whatever they say is The Truth, no matter the actual facts, or what they said before.
Just like Trump and his entourage can’t break any laws. As Trump literally said: “We ARE the law.”
So no-one in Trump’s entourage can commit perjury, or in fact any other crime.
This of course means that the US is already a 99% dictatorship. The remaining 1% is the judiciary that still doesn’t automatically rubberstamp whatever Trump wants – but their verdicts are increasingly being voided by the SCOTUS or GOP state supreme courts.
We can safely call US a full-on dictatorship. It was apparent where the country was heading after SCOTUS ruled last year that president has full immunity when in office. And yes the SCOTUS so far has been very pro-Trump so far. Here is a good analysis on the current state of SCOTUS: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/08/22/justice-jackson-correctly-defines-the-john-roberts-supreme-court-as-the-calvinball-court/
Talker: We can safely call US a full-on dictatorship
key components of a dictatorship per AI
Concentrated Power: A single leader or small ruling group holds absolute power.
Suppression of Dissent: Opposition is suppressed through violence, intimidation, or control of information.
Lack of Civil Liberties: Freedoms of the press, speech, and assembly are severely restricted.
Authoritarian Control: The government exerts extensive control over the lives of its citizens.
Human Rights Abuses: Widespread human rights violations are common.
Perhaps you should look up the definition of words first.
Oh look…someone graduated from using a dictionary to using AI.
Just because it isn’t happening to you and/or in the neck of your woods doesn’t mean it is not happening elsewhere and/or to other people. Even in dictatorships certain groups of people are spared of those things you listed with AI’s assistance. But hey, by all means – keep that head buried deep in the sand and stay ignorant, my friend.
In any case, Trump seems pro-chiroquackery!
@DC
Concentrated Power: A single leader or small ruling group holds absolute power
-> Check.
Trump has de facto assumed absolute power, controlling everything from drinking straws and cultural and artistic issues (Smithsonian, Kennedy Art Center) through schools and universities to law enforcement and budgetary matters (even though Congress should be in charge of the latter).
Suppression of Dissent: Opposition is suppressed through violence, intimidation, or control of information
-> Check.
Opponents are intimidated, threatened and punished through the legal system and the military.
Lack of Civil Liberties: Freedoms of the press, speech, and assembly are severely restricted
-> Check.
– The WH press corps is reduced to only the nodding dummies who support Trump. Critical news organizations are hindered or outright banned, and/or extorted or punished through a weaponized legal system, suffering crippling lawsuits.
– Anyone critical of Trump caught at the border can be detained for days or even weeks, and/or denied access to the US.
– Civil protests are increasingly met with shows of military force and intimidation.
Authoritarian Control: The government exerts extensive control over the lives of its citizens.
-> Check. Minority groups such as trans people are being forced out of public life, women’s healthcare is increasingly state-controlled as well as criminalized. Academia are being suppressed.
Human Rights Abuses: Widespread human rights violations are common.
-> Check
– Anyone can be violently plucked from the street by masked agents without a warrant, whisked away in unmarked vehicles, and detained under inhumane conditions for days or even weeks – even US citizens.
– People can be deported to hellhole prisons in foreign countries without any due process, and without any chance of freedom – even if they committed no other crime than entering the US illegally.
Another disturbing sign is that Trump is spending almost $200 billion on creating a huge personal army that appears to be directly accountable to him only, and on building huge concentration camps all over the country.
I was going to state much the same; you beat me too it. THANKS!
Thanks also to DC: for once he has made a valuable contribution in pointing out [unwittingly] how far the US has gone in the wrong direction.
Richard. Trump hasn’t assumed absolute power.
@DC
It would appear that we have found yet another condition that no chiropractic manipulation so far managed to treat effectively: severely impaired eyesight due to head stuck up arse.
@Richard
I think we all need some comedic relief. Therefore, I gave ChatGPT following task- “Come up with a funny name for this disease: severely impaired eyesight due to head stuck up arse”
ChatGPT’s response:
😂🤣
Sigh, suffering from TDS?
Absolute power in government is the principle of complete and unrestricted authority, typically held by a single ruler or dictator, who is not limited by any other governing bodies or institutions like legislative, judicial, or electoral systems.
Tell that to this guy: https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-rep-mark-alford-told-to-take-his-head-out-of-trumps-a-in-town-hall-trainwreck/
He thinks his congressman suffers from RMS. Apparently, RMS is a very recognizable condition. 😂🤣
@DC
No. But given that this term is used exclusively by rather dim-witted Trump fans, my diagnosis of what is best called RMS (thanks, Talker!) seems to have been correct.
… which is a very accurate description of what Trump is pursuing and, alas, achieving. You must be stupid as well as blind not to see this.
But hey, I guess as a pedlar of nonsense and pseudoscience, you feel right at home with the Trump administration based on lying, cheating, corruption, bullying and extortion. So enjoy it while you can; I won’t be bothering you any more.
RR: which is a very accurate description of what Trump is pursuing and, alas, achieving.
That’s not what Talker claimed.
“We can safely call US a full-on dictatorship.”
Now if Talker would had written, ‘we can safely call the US as becoming a full-on dictatorship.’
Well, that’s a different discussion and the one you’re apparently trying to have.
But yes, we’re done. Take care.
One needs to hide behind semantics when one doesn’t have an argument to support their position.
Now we are done. Bye bye!
Trump lies constantly. So why should his minions act any differently?
Latest news:
– Kennedy says he can spot autism, ‘mitochondrial disorders’ and all kinds of other chronic conditions in children at a glance.
– Trump fires CDC director Susan Monarez for refusing to implement Kennedy’s insane ‘health’ policies. Monarez, a scientist, was given the post just a few weeks earlier, after Senate confirmation hearings. Monarez is fighting her dismissal. Three more high-ranking CDC officials have since resigned in response to Kennedy’s directives.
their vandalism would be quite funny – if it would not affect us all sooner or later.
I really hope that when this nightmare presidency is over(*), all these people will be held accountable. They are a serious threat for democratic America as a whole, as well as for millions upon millions of individual Americans. If the current political course is maintained, I am quite certain that lots of Americans(**) will die prematurely.
Or to stay on-topic: yes, these people should be prosecuted for perjury, and maybe even treason. Each and every one of them swore an oath to uphold the constitution, and to serve the American people to the best of their ability – yet each and every one betrayed their oath and the American people by serving only Donald Trump and his authoritarian agenda, and by taking on jobs for which they utterly lacked the competence.
*: Which no doubt can only happen when Trump kicks the bucket – hopefully sooner rather than later. But even then, dozens if not hundreds of Trump’s minions must also be ousted from their positions of power, among which some truly evil sods.
**: Of course lots of non-Americans have already died and will die by the millions if Trump’s policies are not reversed. And the really stupid thing is that a lot of the money spent on USAID went right back to US farmers who were supplying all that food in the first place.
hear, hear!
Just as worrying:
The Food and Drug Administration has approved updated COVID-19 shots for fall, implementing the tightest restrictions on who can access the vaccines since they became available.
[…]
“Any parent who wants their child vaccinated should have access to this vaccine; today’s unprecedented action from HHS not only prevents this option for many families, but adds further confusion and stress for parents trying to make the best choices for their children,” academy president Dr. Susan J. Kressly said. “Parents and pediatricians, together, make the best decisions to protect children’s long-term health. We urge the Administration to allow these choices to remain with medical experts and families.”
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/08/27/fda-approves-updated-covid-19-vaccines-with-tighter-restrictions/85850815007/
I was surprised when they nominated Susan Monarez to run the CDC. Unlike other Trump nominees, Monarez is a very capable person with proper education and experience to lead the CDC. Too bad she did not last long among the Trump sycophants.