(NewsNation) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told NewsNation host Dan Abrams on Wednesday that he “took two plane rides” with Jeffrey Epstein.
One of those trips took place “in 1993, when I went down to visit my mother in Palm Beach,” Florida.
Kennedy said his wife knew Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for multiple charges including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity.
“Many people knew him,” Kennedy said. “My wife knew his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell and they offered us a ride when we were going down to see my mother. I was with two children and my wife … on the plane at that time. I knew nothing about Jeffrey Epstein.”
Kennedy said his second trip with Epstein came “one or two years later.”
“We took my kids fossil hunting in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. That was the extent of anything that I had to do with Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane,” Kennedy said.
Other than the plane rides and running into Epstein at parties, Kennedy maintains he “had no relationship with him.”
Kennedy’s comments come as a federal court Wednesday started releasing previously secret documents related to Epstein that disclose the names of more than 150 people associated with the disgraced financier.
“I like the fact that all these papers are being released,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been an advocate for transparency. I think that the government keeps too many secrets.”
He continued: “It’s suspicious that the government has been unwilling to release those documents. I think that every document associated with Jeffrey Epstein should be released.”
Abrams questioned Kennedy about any potential bombshells, asking: “So, there’s nothing that could come out that you’re concerned about in terms of the campaign or anything like that?”
Kennedy replied: “Nothing at all. I hope everything that is known about Jeffrey Epstein comes out.”
Kennedy, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Jean Luc Brunel, George Mitchell, former President Donald Trump, Glenn Dubin, William Burns and Bill Gates are said to be some of the people previously reported to have been associated with Epstein over the years. While they may have been linked to Epstein, they are not necessarily implicated in any wrongdoing.
Allegations against Epstein first publicly surfaced in 2005. He pleaded guilty to sex charges in Florida and served 13 months in jail. Much of that time was spent in a work-release program as part of a deal. He ultimately registered as a sex offender.
Federal prosecutors revived the case against Epstein after a series of stories by the Miami Herald in 2018. In 2019, authorities arrested Epstein again. While awaiting trial for allegedly orchestrating a child sex trafficking ring, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell of an apparent suicide.
Less than one year after Epstein’s death, Maxwell was arrested at a New Hampshire estate. She was convicted in 2021.
NewsNation’s Katie Smith and Cassie Buchman contributed to this report.
