Washington DC - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have lied to Congress about the purpose of a 2019 trip to Samoa that preceded a deadly outbreak of measles.

Documents obtained by the Guardian and the Associated Press undermine testimony RFK Jr. gave during his Senate confirmation hearings last year in which he claimed that a 2019 trip to Samoa had "nothing to do with vaccines."

Critics had accused RFK Jr. of stoking anti-measles vaccine sentiment during the trip, which occurred only months before the island nation suffered a massive measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children.

Kennedy denied these accusations, but documents give an inside look into the trip and include numerous accounts of him raising the issue of vaccines.

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Over the course of the visit, RFK Jr. reportedly met with local officials and anti-vaccine activists. He also met with the nation's health minister, who later told NBC News that he had expressed anti-vax views.

"The real reason Kennedy is coming is to raise awareness about vaccinations, more specifically some of the health concerns associated with vaccinating (from his point of view)," read an email exchange between state officials.

If RFK Jr. did indeed lie to Congress about the purpose of his trip to Samoa, it would spell further trouble for his chaotic stint as HHS Secretary, which is already under intense scrutiny.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who asked RFK Jr. key questions about his Samoa trip during the confirmation hearing, told the Guardian that the newly discovered documents prove that he is "directly responsible for the deaths of innocent children."

"Lying to Congress about his role in the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa only underscores the danger he now poses to families across America," Wyden said.