RFK Jr. gives testimony in legal battle to bar him from New York presidential ballot due to residency concerns

ALBANY, N.Y. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. experienced a sometimes intense barrage of inquiries Tuesday from a lawyer challenging his assertion that he resides in New York and aiming to prevent the autonomous candidate from appearing on the state’s presidential ballot.

Kennedy attested that his domicile is in the affluent New York City suburb of Katonah, and he has stated he only relocated to California temporarily in 2014 to be with his wife, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines. The lawsuit filed on behalf of multiple voters seeks to nullify his New York ballot application.

In one tense interaction in the Albany courtroom, voters’ attorney Keith Corbett provided a July 2 confirmation from Kennedy stating his driver’s license was registered to the Katonah residence. However, Corbett mentioned that official documents reveal the registration did not include that address until the subsequent day.

“Are you acquainted with the term ‘perjury’?” Corbett inquired.

“Absolutely,” Kennedy responded, mentioning that his assistant managed the paperwork.

“I will definitely rectify this. I was mistaken by 24 hours,” Kennedy admitted.

“I have resided in New York for 50 years,” he added.

Corbett cast doubts on Kennedy’s residency assertion on multiple fronts. He presented Kennedy with a federal statement of candidacy with a Los Angeles address and had the candidate acknowledge he had transferred his keepsakes, books, and animals from New York to California.

“The canines came, the birds remained,” Kennedy stated, alluding to his raptors.

Kennedy, clad in a blue suit, answered many questions confidently but appeared less certain with certain inquiries related to a sequence of trusts and real estate dealings. He was resistant when Corbett presented documents indicating Kennedy cast a vote in 2016 using an address of a suburban New York residence that his sister had sold a year earlier. When Corbett brought up voter fraud, Kennedy replied: “My assertion here is that I never deceived anyone.”

Kennedy’s testimony was scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

The lawsuit asserts that Kennedy’s New York ballot application listed a residence in Katonah while he has actually resided in the Los Angeles region since 2014. The suit is supported by Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC led by backers of Democratic President Joe Biden. A judge is poised to determine the verdict without a jury.

Earlier in the day, the woman who possesses the Katonah property attested that Kennedy leases a room from her for $500 a month, but admitted that those payments commenced a day after a news article raised doubts about the candidate’s assertion that he resides in New York.

Barbara Moss has owned the property in Katonah since 1991 and resides there with her husband, Timothy Haydock, an old Kennedy acquaintance, according to court documents.

Under examination from Kennedy lawyer William F. Savino, Moss mentioned that Kennedy is her tenant who pays $500 a month for a room. There is no formal lease, she stated.

“As long as Bobby requires the room, it will persist,” she stated “That was our understanding.”

A lawyer for the petitioners, John Quinn, pointed out that the initial payment to Moss was made on May 20, the day after a New York Post article cast doubt on Kennedy’s claim that he resided at that address. And Moss confirmed that the initial payment was for $6,000, an amount equivalent to a year’s overdue rent.

The lawsuit alleges Kennedy “at most only visited” the residence approximately 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan.

In a video posted on his Facebook page Tuesday, the 70-year-old Kennedy stated he has resided in New York ever since his father relocated there in 1964 to lead his victorious campaign for U.S. Senate. This occurred after his father’s brother, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. His own father was also fatally shot in 1968 while campaigning for president.

“I moved out to California in 2014 … to support Cheryl, who could not move at that time. One of us had to,” said Kennedy, who led a New York-based environmental group for decades. “We both agreed at that point that when she was done acting there that she’d come back to New York and we’d move back to New York and maybe she would do Broadway or whatever.

“But I always maintained a New York residence because I adore New York,” he said. “It’s part of who I am. It’s part of my identity, and it was crucial to me to retain it.”

Kennedy has stated in legal documents that he relocated to the Katonah address after being instructed last year to vacate a nearby residence where he had been residing. That narrative was challenged in court on Monday by the owners of that house, who asserted Kennedy was never a tenant.

While autonomous presidential candidates like Kennedy encounter exceedingly slim chances, he has the potential to outperform any such candidate in decades, aided by his well-known name and a dedicated following. Both Democrat and Republican strategists express concern that he could have a negative impact on their candidate’s prospects.

Kennedy’s campaign asserts he has garnered adequate signatures to qualify in 42 states thus far. His ballot initiative has encountered obstacles and legal action in several states, including North Carolina and New Jersey.