Wyden alleges RFK Jr. broke the law in calls urging Libertarians to quit Iowa races
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — High-ranking Senate Democrat Ron Wyden claimed: Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He recently broke the law with phone calls urging third-party candidates to drop out of two congressional races in Iowa.
Inside Complaint to the US Office of Special Counsel In the filing Monday, Wyden requested an investigation into whether the June calls violated the 1939 Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities of federal employees. The Oregon Democrat said Kennedy acted improperly by interfering in elections that Trump’s Republican administration wanted GOP candidates to win.
“Kennedy has spent sixteen months using his official position to undermine the health and well-being of American citizens, and now he is using his official position to undermine the integrity of democratic elections,” said Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the nation’s health care agencies.
The impeachment came as Trump dispatched Kennedy to rotate districts across the country as a key administration surrogate and supported his widely popular efforts to promote healthy eating and exercise. There’s trouble with another task Kennedy reportedly did on behalf of the administration: Urging Libertarian candidates to force them to drop out of two races that could be spoilers for GOP candidates. Control of Congress is at stake in a competitive midterm election year; Any victory could be decisive in shaping federal policy over the next two years.
Spokespeople for Kennedy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Allegations focus on 2 competitive US House races
The calls Wyden references in the complaint include a June 8 call with Marco Battaglia, a Libertarian candidate running in Iowa’s 3rd congressional district, and a June 11 call with Rick Stewart, a Libertarian candidate running in Iowa’s 2nd congressional district.
They are among three of Iowa’s four congressional districts expected to be among the most competitive in the country, and in recent election cycles Libertarian candidates have received the support of 2% to 3% of voters. Republicans in Iowa objected to Battaglia and Stewart’s nominating papers, and Battaglia was removed from the general election ballot while Stewart remained. Both cases are being appealed in district court.
“They don’t want our people there. They think we’re spoilers,” Stephanie Berlin, chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, said Tuesday. “This is just another example of two major parties trying to deprive us of access to the ballot.”
Libertarian Party leader recorded a meeting with Kennedy
Berlin sat next to Stewart while he spoke to Kennedy and was the one who recorded the conversation; Stewart said he interpreted this to mean that Kennedy was offering reciprocation even as he was “crossing the line.”
Kennedy did not make any specific requests or offers to Stewart on the recording, according to a copy shared with The Associated Press. Kennedy said Stewart could be “his liaison to the White House” and suggested that Stewart, like Kennedy himself, “could make a deal that would put me in a position where I could make a real difference in people’s lives.”
“I cannot go into details because, as you know, there are legal prohibitions on this issue,” he said. “If there is something you want to work on together… other ways you think you can be effective, like I said, I will be your advocate.”
The Washington Post had previously reported on Kennedy’s recorded conversation with Stewart.
Stewart told the AP that it was clear Kennedy wanted him to withdraw from the school, but he said he suspected Kennedy was “doing his best to stay on the right side of the law.”
“That’s how all politics works,” Stewart said. “Everyone does their best not to break the rules, but they also do their best to break the rules.”
More specifically, Wyden said Kennedy’s offer of a federal job to Stewart amounted to an illegal quid pro quo and that Kennedy should be held accountable.
Battaglia also told the AP last month that Kennedy called him to encourage him to drop out of the race, but he had no record of it.
Watchdog group calls Kennedy’s comments ‘blatant violation’
Donald Sherman, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a nonpartisan government watchdog group in Washington, said there are several examples in the record that touch on Kennedy’s official position and responsibilities as health secretary. Sherman said this was a “clear violation” of the Hatch Act worthy of investigation by the Special Counsel’s Office.
“I don’t want to be fighting subpoenas for the next two years instead of improving America’s health,” Kennedy said in his call to Stewart. “So, to me, there was an urgent, pragmatic reason for this phone call.”
Sherman said there were ways for Kennedy to have a political conversation that did not violate the Hatch Act, but he should have called from a personal phone call from a personal office and avoided contacting the government or government agency.
“By specifically appealing to the White House, citing her official duties and her official role as HHS secretary, she blurs the line between whether she is calling as a government employee or as a private citizen,” Sherman said. “This is where the problem arises.”
Many other high-ranking government officials have faced Hatch Act complaints in the past. During the first Trump administration, the Office of Special Counsel sent senior officials 15 warning letters It’s about running afoul of decades-old law. President Joe Biden’s former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also violated the law with references to “MAGA Republicans” during White House briefings. Penalties for Hatch Act violations are rare, and the Office of Special Counsel has not recommended any fines or other penalties for Jean-Pierre.
During his second term, Trump took steps to gain greater control over independent agencies such as the Office of Special Counsel; It’s a stance that could influence whether Wyden takes action on his complaint. Trump fired the head of the office early in his second term. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the president can dismiss members of independent agency boards without cause.
Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the watchdog group Public Citizen who has himself filed Hatch Act complaints against Trump administration officials, said he does not expect the office to take action on what he sees as a violation in the Kennedy case.
“RFK’s use of his official position in the phone call, his connection to the White House, and his use of his ability to curry favor with the White House are all direct violations of the Hatch Act,” Holman said. he said.
Holman added that the Office of Special Counsel could recommend that RFK be removed from his position, “but I don’t expect that.”
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Swenson reported from New York.
