By all accounts, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not an especially popular figure in American politics, but the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist nevertheless has a public following. With this in mind, Kennedy recently started taking on electoral responsibilities, including headlining an event in Michigan last week with Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts.

As Politico noted, this was the latest in a series of events that included stops in Colorado, Wisconsin and Ohio. Technically, these events were not official campaign stops for the Cabinet secretary, but since Kennedy only visited competitive districts and appeared only alongside Republicans in closely watched races ahead of the midterm elections, the emerging pattern wasn’t exactly subtle.

But perhaps notable was the HHS secretary’s interest in Iowa.

Politico also recently reported that Kennedy urged a Libertarian in the state’s 3rd Congressional District to drop out of the contest in order to help the Republican Party hold onto the seat. The Washington Post has a new report, meanwhile, on Kennedy taking similar steps in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District — though this time, there are reportedly audio recordings documenting the secretary’s efforts. From the article:

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged a Libertarian congressional candidate in Iowa to drop out of a competitive House race to help Republicans keep control of Congress, according to an audio recording of the conversation obtained by The Washington Post.

During the call, Kennedy said he was acting as a “liaison” with the White House, argued that a Democratic takeover of the House would undermine President Donald Trump’s agenda and suggested that he could help the candidate if he left the race. He also suggested that the candidate could “make an agreement” that would accomplish more than a “symbolic run” for office. …

Reached by phone Thursday, Kennedy declined to comment and referred questions to a spokesperson, who did not immediately respond.

Kennedy declined the Post’s request for a comment.

According to the recording, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, Kennedy told Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart, “I can’t go into specifics because there’s legal prohibitions about that. … If it’s something that you want to talk about, you know, you and I can talk about specifics.”

Right off the bat, there are obvious questions about why the nation’s health secretary, who has plenty of official responsibilities on his plate, would take on the role of a White House “liaison,” leaning on a congressional candidate from a different political party and trying to get him to exit a closely watched House race.

But the closer one looks at the details, the more controversial this appears: If Kennedy raised the possibility of an “agreement” that would benefit the Libertarian candidate if he exited the race, it raises all kinds of red flags, and in a healthier political environment, would likely put Kennedy’s career in jeopardy.

In fact, the Post report added, “Government ethics experts said Kennedy’s apparent intervention in the Iowa races was unethical and potentially illegal, depending on whether he promised candidates specific favors and whether he made the calls in his capacity as a Cabinet official, among other factors.”

For his part, Stewart told the newspaper that he interpreted Kennedy’s call as an attempt at quid pro quo.

“He was very careful about the words that he used, but the whole implication is: You help us, we’ll help you,” Stewart said. “They want to get me out because I might pick up 2 or 3 percent — and if I pick up 2 or 3 percent, they think it’ll come out of the Republican pocket.”

The Libertarian Party candidate said he does not intend to end his candidacy. As for Kennedy, it seems awfully likely the questions about his alleged efforts will continue.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

The post RFK Jr. reportedly tried to make a legally dubious deal with a congressional candidate appeared first on MS NOW.

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