The Associated Press et al. v. U.S. Department of State
Case Number: 1:25-cv-02268
Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Clients: The Associated Press and Michelle Smith
Complaint Filed: July 16, 2025
Background: In June 2019, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., visited Samoa a few months before the country’s deadly measles outbreak. At the time of Kennedy’s trip, measles vaccination rates in the Pacific Island nation were at a historic low. While there, Kennedy reportedly met with the prime minister, anti-vaccine activists, and a U.S. embassy staff member.
Kennedy’s visit drew renewed scrutiny after he announced his campaign for the 2024 presidential election. Critics accused him of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation that contributed to Samoa’s measles epidemic, which killed 83 people, mostly young children. Kennedy has maintained that he “had nothing to do with vaccine uptake in Samoa or with the 2019 epidemic.”
In September 2023, Michelle Smith, a reporter for The Associated Press, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of State seeking records related to Kennedy’s visit and the U.S. embassy staff’s response to the country’s low vaccination rates. She asked the agency to speed up processing her request because she said the records could shed light on how the actions of a then-U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. embassy staff influenced public health in Samoa.
Ten months later, the State Department informed Smith it had located over 1,000 potentially responsive records to her request. Smith narrowed the scope of the request. But as of July 2025, the agency has not produced the records or cited exemptions to withhold the requested records.
On behalf of the AP and Smith, attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed this lawsuit, alleging that the State Department violated FOIA because it failed to comply with statutory deadlines and wrongfully withheld agency records. It asks that the court order the agency to complete its search for the records and turn over all non-exempt records.
Filings:
2025-07-16: Complaint
2025-07-16: Exhibit 1