RFK Jr. fights lawsuit alleging he falsely claimed New York residency

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in an Albany court on Monday to fight a lawsuit alleging that he falsely claimed to live in New York.

The lawsuit was brought by Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC aligned with President Biden that has focused on attacking third party candidates, and seeks to invalidate Kennedy’s New York nominating petition over his alleged residency claim.

The complaint alleges that Kennedy listed a house in Katonah, a wealthy Westchester County hamlet, as his residence when he’s actually been living in Los Angeles since 2014, when he married actress Cheryl Hines.

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“While Mr. Kennedy may have purchased a home in California and temporarily moved his family there while his wife pursues her acting career, Mr. Kennedy is and always has been a New Yorker,” the independent candidate’s lawyers wrote in a court filing, according to the Associated Press .

Kennedy claims that the Katonah home he listed on his New York ballot access petition belongs to a friend, and that he has been living there, paying rent, receiving mail and listing the address on his driver’s license since being kicked out of a different Katonah home in March of 2023 that was owned by a friend and supporter of Biden.

The owner, David Michaelis, disputed Kennedy’s claim, calling it “a fiction” and indicating that Kennedy was never a tenant.

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The lawsuit, filed in June, argues that Kennedy has no written lease and has spent “vanishingly little time, if any” in Katonah.

Kennedy’s lawyers argue that the 70-year-old son of the late New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy has lived in the Empire State since he was 10 and maintains a  “continuing connection” to the Katonah area.

“He even keeps his beloved falcons in New York state,” his attorney, William F. Savino, said in a statement Monday, noting that Kennedy intends to permanently move back to New York when his wife retires from acting.

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Kennedy is expected to testify in the court challenge, which will be decided by a judge rather than a jury, later this week.

Kennedy’s court appearance comes one day after he revealed that he dumped a dead black bear in Central Park after finding the carcass on the side of the road during a 2014 falconing trip in Goshen, New York.

The bear had been struck by a motorist and Kennedy hoped to skin it and refrigerate the meat but when the falconing trip ran late he decided to leave the dead bear in the Manhattan park.

The dead bear made headlines at the time and prompted an investigation by state Department of Environmental Conservation officials.

Kennedy won’t face charges over the bizarre incident as the statute of limitations has expired.

Kennedy is averaging 5.5% in presidential polls compared to former President Donald Trump’s 44.6% and Vice President Kamala Harris’ 44.8% support in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of a five-way national race.

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