Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s former babysitter Eliza Cooney accused him of multiple instances of sexual assault during her employment with the Kennedy family, according to a Vanity Fair expose .
Cooney's allegations, which occur at points through 1998 and 1999, show a few instances in which Kennedy made unwanted advances toward her.
In a November 1998 diary entry, she said, "From everything everybody says about the Kennedys + their Babysitters, they had me worried. Like I have to watch out, be careful. And the other night in the kitchen w/ Murray I could have sworn he was touching my leg + hand. It seemed like he thought I was somebody else or wasn’t paying attention. Like he would come to every once in a while and snap out of it or I would move away. It was like he was on something or really tired or was missing Mary or was testing me."
She later said she discovered Kennedy reading her personal diary, which contained the entry. She said she stopped recording her experiences for fear he would read them. A few months later, after Cooney had taken part in a yoga class with a sports bra and leggings, "Kennedy came up behind her, blocked her inside the room, and began groping her, putting his hands on her hips and sliding them up along her rib cage and breasts."
Kennedy was interrupted by another worker who said something to the effect of, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” or “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want your wife to know about.”
"Cooney stayed on the job for a few more months but says the experience damaged her confidence and diverted her from environmental work," the article says. "At the end of her diary, Cooney wrote a list of things 'to leave behind in 1999,' with 'bad men' at the top."
Cooney decided to share her story now because Kennedy is a candidate for president.
In an interview on the YouTube channel Breaking Points, Kennedy responded to the sexual assault allegations by saying, "I'm not a church boy; I am not running like that. ... I had a very rambunctious youth. I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world."
"Vanity Fair is recycling 30-year-old stories, and I am not gonna comment on the details of any of them but I am who I am," Kennedy continued.
When pressed by the host of the show whether he is denying the allegation or not, Kennedy said, "I'm not gonna comment on it."
The independent presidential candidate is also facing criticism for a picture in the story that appeared to show him eating what is reported to be a barbecued dog.
Kennedy laughed when asked about the picture, saying, "The article is a lot of garbage. The picture that they said is of me eating a dog is actually me eating a goat in Patagonia. ... They said they have an expert who has identified that as a dog carcass; it's just not true."
Democrats quickly seized the opportunity to attack Kennedy as Democratic National Committee spokesman Matt Corridoni posted the photo of Kennedy with the animal, which Vanity Fair said it had a veterinarian examine and subsequently determine that the animal is a canine.
The photo has horrified social media users, with some comparing Kennedy to Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), who received a considerable amount of backlash for reporting that she shot her hunting dog and a goat in her newest book.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Kennedy campaign but did not receive a response.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Decision Desk HQ's running polling average has Kennedy polling nationally between about 7% and 9% since April.
The sexual assault allegation against Kennedy makes it so the three top polling presidential candidates, all men, all have at least one sexual assault accusation. Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse of E. Jean Carroll, and President Joe Biden was accused by Tara Reade of assaulting her while he was a senator.
Most Popular
Comments / 0