Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the world’s largest Bitcoin conference in Miami in May. Said “I’m not an investor and I’m not here to give investment advice,” the crowd said.
What President Kennedy did not tell the audience was that his family had recently invested in Bitcoin. Financial disclosure On page 12 of the report, Kennedy lists brokerage accounts that held between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of bitcoin. Hours after the article was published, former Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Kennedy’s campaign manager, told CNBC that the Bitcoin purchases would take place after his speech in Miami and before the June 30 filing deadline. said that he was
According to Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington watchdog group, if Kennedy promotes bitcoin on the campaign trail and close relatives hold cryptocurrencies, the situation could be worse. It could be a conflict of interest.
“There is no conflict here,” Kucinich said in a follow-up interview with CNBC.
Since the conference, President Kennedy has continued to promote Bitcoin.
In late June, he tweeted, “Bitcoin is not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and manipulation of the money supply, but it points the way to a future where government institutions are more transparent and more democratic.”of Tweet includes a video of his speech in Miami, explaining how he became a Bitcoin proponent as president.
The filing lists less than $201 in income from holding bitcoin, but does not specify when it was purchased. The application also does not say who bought it or how much the family spent on the original investment. It also did not say whether it has sold its bitcoin holdings.
Bitcoin holdings are listed under the form section. It contains Assets that may also belong to a spouse or dependent children.it is intended to reflection According to the Office of Government Ethics, holdings “from the previous calendar year and from this year to the filing date.” Kennedy is married to Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines and has six children. Kennedy signed a disclosure form late last month and submitted it to the Office of Government Ethics, according to the documents.
After multiple requests for comment by CNBC, Kennedy’s campaign said hours after the story was published, “The investment is his wife’s, not his. He has no part in her investment decisions.” Stated. The campaign did not disclose how long Hines had held the Bitcoin investment or when he purchased the assets.
But later on Friday, campaign representatives sent out a new statement, stating that the Bitcoin investment did indeed belong to Kennedy. “I made a mistake in my last communication,” the representative said. did not possess the
Before the Kennedy campaign commented, CREW’s Canter said the ownership was indeed up to date as of June 30, when he submitted the disclosure. “According to the traditional conflict of interest analysis, Mr. Hines’ financial interests would belong to Mr. Hines,” Canter said.
“Despite his family history of owning bitcoin, I am genuinely concerned that he is speaking at this conference and promoting this investment to potential voters. It looks like they could do the same to And Gamble,” she added. “From the point of view of the conflict, there is no difference in my opinion.”
After Kennedy attended a conference in Miami in May, CNBC asked if Kennedy owned cryptocurrencies. A spokesperson for the campaign said at the time that “Kennedy does not own cryptocurrencies.”
Kennedy said in a press conference that if he becomes president, he will “guarantee the inviolability of the right to hold and use bitcoin.”
The administration of President Joe Biden has waged an aggressive battle on cryptocurrencies. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said in June, “We don’t need more digital currencies,” after the SEC filed a complaint against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase for allegedly acting as an unregistered broker and exchange. ‘” he told CNBC.
Despite some headwinds in the cryptocurrency industry, bitcoin’s price recently rose to a 13-month high on Thursday.
Kennedy’s campaign has caught the attention of some wealthy supporters, even though he still lags far behind Biden in Democratic primary polls.Quinnipiac Survey from June Among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, Mr. Biden has been shown to have 70% support, while Mr. Kennedy has 17%. Kennedy, 69, is the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s.
Kennedy’s bitcoin support has echoed several top tech investors, including billionaire and bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey, several of whom have offered their support for the presidential race. there is Others include David Sachs, Chamas Palihapitiya and Omid Malik.
Kennedy, who has been criticized for spreading misinformation about vaccines in general, has a history of pushing Bitcoin. His nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, is also interested in cryptocurrencies.
Taxes for 2021 record The “Investments” section shows that the group had over $78,000 worth of cryptocurrency. A spokesperson for CHD said, reportedly , who opposed the COVID-19 vaccine and played a key role in boosting Kennedy’s profile before he ran for president, previously told CNBC that the cryptocurrencies on the list were not “investments,” He said it was actually a “donation”. CHD’s website indicates that Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies he is allowed to donate to non-profit organizations.
Kennedy tweeted in April before he ran for president, seemingly endorsing bitcoin as a tool to ward off the effects of a sluggish U.S. economy.
“Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin give the masses a way out of the splatter zone when this bubble is bound to burst,” Kennedy said. Said.
In May, just days before Kennedy took the stage at the Miami Bitcoin Conference, tweeted: “Cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, are major innovation engines along with other cryptographic technologies.
one day later he tweeted: “Bitcoin has become a savior for people’s mobility around the world.”
