New documents from the Justice Department show that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s current Health Secretary, once went hunting for dinosaur bones in the Dakotas with child sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. This strange discovery is part of the ongoing release of the Epstein files.
According to The Daily Beast, the documents include an email exchange between Epstein and Maxwell from 2012, seven years before Epstein died while waiting for trial. The two were remembering their past trips, showing how many well-known people they became friends with over the years.
In one email, Epstein wrote to Maxwell about a past trip involving “dinosaur and fossill hunitng (sic) with jack horner on the ranch, found 90 million year old clams and fossils.” Epstein thought Maxwell would enjoy the memory, adding that the activity was “Right up your alley.” Maxwell replied the next day, asking, “Love that – didn’t we go fossil hunting with him and Bobby Kennedy in N Dakota?” Epstein simply replied, “Yes.”
The fossil hunting trip reveals Epstein and Maxwell’s reach into high-level American politics
Maxwell confirmed the connection during her interview last year with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The revelation seemed to surprise Blanche when Maxwell mentioned, “Bobby Kennedy knew him.” Blanche sounded surprised, asking, “Sorry? Say that again about Bobby Kennedy?” Maxwell then confirmed they went “dinosaur bone hunting in the Dakotas” together.
The trip took place in South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Collecting fossils on reservation land without tribal permission is considered looting, which looks bad for anyone, especially a Cabinet Secretary.
Secretary Kennedy, who enjoys outdoor activities, has admitted to the visit. While running as an independent presidential candidate in 2023, he was asked about flying on Epstein’s private plane. He said he only flew with Epstein twice, once in 1993 and the other time being the fossil hunting trip.
Kennedy said the trips happened about 30 years ago, “before anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious issues,” and claimed he was never alone with him. Kennedy has never been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s crimes.
These files show how widely Epstein and Maxwell connected with people at the highest levels of American politics and technology. The documents reveal the pair had links not just with President Trump, who was a known friend of Epstein’s for years, but also with other well-known figures around him.
The latest documents also show that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla chief Elon Musk tried to visit Epstein’s island after Epstein was already known to be a convicted pedophile. Musk reportedly asked which night would have the “wildest party” and talked about wanting to “let loose.” The files have also revealed what Elon Musk’s brother was doing during this troubling period.Â
President Trump appears in thousands of references across the files, sometimes called simply “Donald” in emails. Other political figures have also been drawn into the investigation, including the Clintons’ offer to testify in the Epstein probe.
Published: Feb 7, 2026 04:45 pm