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In recent days, an invitation from people affiliated with American Values 2024, a super-PAC that supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, has been sent to people in his sphere offering “cocktails and dinner” with Kennedy at Mar-a-Lago.
The invitation refers to Kennedy as “incoming secretary, Health & Human services,” although Kennedy has not yet been formally nominated, let alone confirmed by the Senate for that position.
“These donors are getting special access to someone who’s trying to serve the public.”
The price of enjoying Kennedy’s company at the fundraiser, set to take place on the Trump-owned club’s Lakeview Terrace, is $25,000 each, or $40,000 for a couple. Experts on federal election law say that such a bald exchange—a large donation in exchange for access to a powerful incoming government official—is technically legal, but ethically ill-advised.
The invitation, an image of which was shared with Mother Jones, requests RSVPs at an email address associated with American Values 2024. The fundraiser’s listed hosts are Tony Lyons, a co-founder of the PAC and the owner of Skyhorse Publishing, which publishes Kennedy’s books; Robert and Perri Bishop, respectively the founder and chief operating officer of Impala Asset Management, who have donated generously to American Values and various Republican candidates; Candace McDonald, who the PAC’s CEO and also previously headed the anti-vaccine organization Generation Rescue; and Leigh Merinoff. Merinoff has spoken at a conference put on by Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization. Her bio for that event described her as the owner of Meadows Bee Farm, “an experimental farm and raw milk dairy” in Vermont. FEC records show she also donated to American Values 2024.
The Washington Post recently described how cabinet contenders and political hangers-on have once again descended on Mar-a-Lago, rubbing shoulders with Trump-allies who will soon be in government. A person who answered the club’s phone confirmed a “Bishop fundraiser” is set for December 10, by invitation only. “They have a headcount,” she added. “Make sure your name is on the list.”
Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, says that as a technical matter, laws that govern ethical conduct and permitted political activity for federal officials, including the Hatch Act, don’t apply to Kennedy until he takes office. But from an ethics perspective, “it’s important that you avoid not only an actual conflict of interest but the appearance of one,” he says. “There could be an appearance that these donors are getting special access to someone who’s trying to serve the public. I’d advise someone to avoid that situation.”
Recently, Kennedy’s campaign has recently sent emails to supporters asking for donations to pay off $5.5 million in campaign debt. Exactly how funds taken in at the PAC-hosted, Mar-a-Lago event will be used is not specified on the invitation, but Lyons told Mother Jones that Americas Voice uses the money it raises “to advocate for public policy and initiatives that improve the health of American children and adults.” He added that the organization “has been doing this work for years and we are glad to host an event with RFK Jr whose views we support.”
Kennedy’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Trump’s transition acknowledged a request for comment, but did not provide a statement before publication.
During his own campaign, and in his decades as an anti-vaccine activist, Kennedy railed against the influence of money in politics. “Typical candidates rely on big corporate donors + influencers to fund their campaigns,” he tweeted in September 2023. “In return, candidates advance the agenda of their donors.”
“Both Republicans and Democrats have sold out to special interests and their top donors for decades,” he tweeted in March. “I’m not beholden to anyone but you.”
