You may recall that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is somehow the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, which you are absolutely thrilled about if you’re an infectious disease. But the “human services” part apparently includes the homelessness problem, which is why he was talking about that at a Los Angeles press conference. And as is so often the case when RFK Jr. talks, words came out that did not, let us say, perfectly mirror the reality we currently inhabit.
These words came out after a reporter asked Kennedy whether he was registered to vote in the city’s upcoming mayoral election. “I’m in a very strange position,” Kennedy began (which is true but not in the sense he meant it):
I’m in a very strange position, because when I ran for president [as an independent], the Democratic Party sued me first to get me off the ballot in 12 states, including New York and California. And then when I, um, when I endorsed President Trump, they sued me to keep me on the ballot in those same states.
No one sued to keep him on the ballot, although Democrats likely opposed lawsuits he filed (and lost) to remove his name after he dropped out. More to the point, you may have noticed that none of the words above are “yes” or “no,” the alternatives which the reporter had asked him to choose between. Kennedy wasn’t finished, though:
And in the course of one of those lawsuits, it was declared that I had no legal residence, and so it’s a—I’m in a dilemma where I literally have no state where I can legally vote right now. I’m probably the only person in the country who’s a legal citizen who has that dilemma, but I’m still trying to figure it out before the next election.
That set of words did include “no,” but not as an answer to the question (though I’m sure that is the answer). Kennedy was using it to say something entirely different, and also entirely false.
Democrats did sue to get Kennedy off the ballot in various states, including New York. In that case, they argued Kennedy had lied on campaign filings (made under penalty of perjury) by claiming to be a New York resident. And they won, despite Kennedy’s insistence that he was telling the truth and his introduction of some remarkable evidence in an effort to prove it. See “Judge Rejects RFK Jr.’s Claim to Be New York Resident, Despite Valid State Falconry License” (Aug. 16, 2024). But the judge in that case did not declare that Kennedy “had no legal residence,” as he claimed Tuesday. She declared he was lying about being a resident of New York, a claim she described as a “sham.”
Kennedy had been a New York resident at one point, but moved to California in 2014. The court held the evidence showed he still resided there in 2024—New York falconry license notwithstanding. He and his wife Cheryl Hines still have a home in Los Angeles, and so California is almost certainly Kennedy’s current domicile, though he has homes in other places too. But if he has been moving around so much that his “legal residence” for voting purposes might be unclear, that is entirely his fault, and one that he would have no trouble straightening out if he was concerned about his voting rights, as he seemed to be suggesting. So if you are saddened by the many injustices heaped upon the unfairly oppressed and disenfranchised in this country, your tears need not include any shed for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Kennedy may not spend much time in California these days, of course, given his current position, but it’s likely he could still vote there. Or he could declare himself a D.C. resident. According to Realtor.com, Kennedy bought a townhouse in Georgetown last April for $4.43 million. And listen, I’m not saying it’s this townhouse in Georgetown that sold last April for $4.43 million, I’m just saying this is a townhouse that sold last April for $4.43 million. This one is a 4,876-square-foot, four-bedroom home with “state-of-the-art design,” a chef’s kitchen, double-height gallery, walk-through wine-cellar, cozy rear terrace, and dual fireplaces. I couldn’t tell from the pictures where there are any animal corpses inside, so whether RFK Jr. actually lives there now is hard to say. But if he does, that’s another potential legal residence for him, should he wish to pick one, and that’s all he would need to do. That would solve his “dilemma.”
I am not of course going to miss a chance to remind you that it was Lowering the Bar which broke the news about Kennedy’s bogus in-state falconry claims, and successfully forced the state to produce Kennedy’s falconry records (such as they were) under the Freedom of Information Act. (Thanks again to the readers who (1) suggested this in the first place and (2) supported the appeal I had to file.) You can read that whole saga here, or view the records here. Truth conquers all!
Well, truth conquers some, and not this time, but sometimes.
