Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, received $۴m over the last year in book advances from allies within the Make America Healthy Again movement, according to a new report.
The advances were for upcoming books by Skyhorse Publishing, a publishing house belonging to Tony Lyons, a friend of Kennedy Jr who is also president of Maha Center, a non-profit that describes itself as “tackling America’s health crisis through education, investigation, innovation and action”.
The advances were first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday. According to a ۲۰۲۴ ethics filing, Kennedy Jr pledged: “I will not engage in writing, editing, marketing or promotional services for any of these books during government service.”
Kennedy Jr has written several books with Skyhorse Publishing, including The Real Anthony Fauci and The Wuhan Cover-Up.
According to Kennedy Jr’s ۲۰۲۶ financial disclosure forms, also reviewed by the Guardian, he accepted $۱۲۶,۵۰۰ worth of housing in Washington DC, at a “vacation home” owned by Gavin de Becker.
De Becker is a security consultant and Kennedy Jr ally who also provided the secretary with gifts including nearly $۴۵,۰۰۰ in roundtrip airfare to Greece and nearly $۹۷,۰۰۰ in roundtrip airfare to Fiji, where the Wall Street Journal reports de Becker owns a compound.
In addition to donating at least $۱۰m to Kennedy Jr’s Super Pac in ۲۰۲۴, with $۹.۶۵m being returned, according to Politico, de Becker has published a book with Skyhorse Publishing titled Forbidden Facts: Government Deceit and Suppression About Brain Damage From Childhood Vaccines.
In a statement to the New York Times, an HHS spokesperson said that Kennedy Jr “complies with all applicable federal ethics laws, regulations and financial disclosure requirements”.
“The secretary works with HHS, career ethics officials to ensure that his financial interests, gifts, outside activities and other reportable matters are appropriately disclosed and handled consistent with those requirements,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, de Becker told the outlet: “Bobby is among my closest friends in the world for many years, and I’m grateful to be able to host him anytime … He has hosted my family at his homes, he’s stayed at my homes, we take family vacations together every year, and did so for years before he was in his current job.”
The Guardian has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services, de Becker and Lyons for additional comment.
The financial disclosures also noted that Kennedy Jr’s wife, Cheryl Hines, accepted $۲۱۰,۰۰۰ in consultation fees from the non-profit advocacy group Maha Action, which Lyons also leads.
Speaking to the New York Times, Kedric Payne, a senior ethics counsel at the Campaign Legal Center said: “Lavish gifts to an official from major political donors don’t get the same benefit of the doubt as dinner from a former classmate … The public deserves full transparency about the nature of these gifts and any interests the donor has before the government.”
