Democratic US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had previously denied being a investor, but a recent filing contradicts his statements.
According to filed in June, Kennedy, the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, has between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin held in a brokerage account.
The revelation comes as Kennedy had explicitly said during a conference in May that he was not involved in Bitcoin investment.
“I am not an investor and I am not here to give investment advice,” he said at the time.
In response to the report, Kennedy’s campaign manager, former Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, claimed that the Bitcoin purchase was made after the speech in Miami.
Virginia Canter, the chief ethics counsel for watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, raised concerns that there could be a conflict of interest if Kennedy promoted Bitcoin on his campaign trail while his family held the cryptocurrency.
However, Kucinich dismissed these concerns, asserting that there is no conflict. Kennedy has continued to publicly support Bitcoin since the conference in Miami.
“Bitcoin is not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and the manipulation of our money supply, it points the way toward a future in which government institutions are more transparent and more democratic,” he said in a June tweet.
Kennedy’s Bitcoin Investments Made Less Than $201 in Income
The financial documents reveal that Kennedy’s Bitcoin holdings have made less than $201 in income.
However, the filing does not specify the date of purchase, the person who made the investment, or the amount spent on the initial investment. The documents also do not indicate whether the family has sold their Bitcoin holdings.
The Bitcoin holding is listed under a section of the form that includes assets belonging to spouses and dependent children.
Initially, the Kennedy campaign claimed that the investments were not Kennedy’s but rather his wife’s and that he was not involved in her investment decisions.
However, a campaign representative later that Kennedy does hold a Bitcoin investment.
“Mr. Kennedy does hold a bitcoin investment, but it came later. At the time of the bitcoin speech he had no cryptocurrency holdings,” the representative said.
In April, Kennedy announced his plan to run for the White House in 2024, making him the second Democratic Party candidate to challenge Joe Biden in his presumed bid for re-election.
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During his in Miami, he referred to the cryptocurrency as an “exercise in democracy.” He added:
“As president, I will make sure that your right to hold and use Bitcoin is inviolable.”
