ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — It wasn’t simply the useless bear.
Days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admitted to taking a bear carcass from the aspect of the street and putting it in Central Park as a prank a decade in the past, he stated that has been selecting up roadkill his “whole life” and as soon as had a “freezer full of it” at dwelling.
The remark got here because the impartial presidential candidate was leaving an upstate New York courtroom Wednesday the place he had testified in a lawsuit looking for to exclude him from the state’s poll in November.
The trial has centered on whether or not Kennedy improperly listed a residence within the New York Metropolis suburb of Katonah as his dwelling handle on his nominating petitions, when he has truly been dwelling within the Los Angeles space since 2014.
However the substance of the trial has been largely overshadowed in current days by a narrative, unearthed by The New Yorker, that Kennedy as soon as put a useless bear cub in his automobile whereas on a climbing journey, drove round with it for a day, then dumped it in Central Park with a gaggle of buddies when he realized he needed to catch a flight.
In a video posted to social media Sunday, Kennedy informed comic Roseanne Barr that he deliberate to pores and skin the bear, which was in “very good condition.” He continued, saying, “I was going to put the meat in my refrigerator,” however didn’t specify what he meant to do with it.
Talking to reporters in a hallway after courtroom ended Wednesday, Kennedy was requested whether or not he picked up different roadkill.
“I’ve been picking up roadkill my whole life. I have a freezer full of it,” he stated, eliciting laughter.
Kennedy marketing campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear later stated by textual content that he wasn’t joking. She stated that’s how Kennedy — a falconer who trains ravens — feeds his birds. She added that he not has the 21 cubic foot (0.59 cubic meter) fridge, which had been in New York’s Westchester County suburbs.
On the witness stand, Kennedy was grilled for a second day about the place he lives and whether or not he ought to be stored off New York’s poll in November.
He testified that his transfer to California a decade in the past was solely non permanent so he may very well be together with his spouse, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines, and that he all the time deliberate to return to New York.
Attorneys representing a number of New York voters have sought to display Kennedy shouldn’t be a New York resident, counting on authorities paperwork and even a current social media video wherein Kennedy talks about taming ravens he feeds at his Los Angeles dwelling.
In a testy change within the Albany courtroom, lawyer Keith Corbett repeatedly requested Kennedy whether or not shifting to California together with his household and pets demonstrated his intention to reside in that state.
Kennedy balked at offering a “yes” or “no” reply, saying the truth was extra nuanced.
“Do you want a yes or no answer, or do you want the truth?” Kennedy stated.
“My intention is to return to New York and that’s the only requirement for residency,” he stated.
Beneath questioning from his personal lawyer, Kennedy stated he moved to California out of affection for his spouse and concern for her profession.
“I said I would figure out a way to make a living in California until we could move back, and that was our agreement,” he stated.
He stated it was tough for him to depart New York as a result of he had constructed his life there.
The residence in query is a room in a house in well-to-do Katonah, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan. Kennedy testified Wednesday that he has solely slept in that room as soon as, citing his fixed journey for his marketing campaign.
Proven {a photograph} of the room, Kennedy acknowledged the furnishings and portray within the room should not his, however he stated footage on the nightstand belong to him.
“I think one of them is a photo of me and Mick Jagger,” he stated.
Kennedy’s lawyer, William F. Savino, requested him why he didn’t simply lease or purchase a home in New York within the final 10 years. Kennedy stated homeownership is time consuming and costly.
“It snows a lot here,” he stated. “The pipes break, the driveway needs to be plowed and all these other burdens that are associated with home ownership.”
Kennedy, who lived in New York for years earlier than shifting to California, famous his father was equally accused when he ran for a New York Senate seat in 1964 and received. Months earlier than that election, his father, Robert F. Kennedy, rented a house on Lengthy Island.
“He was also accused of not being a New Yorker,” he stated.
The lady who owns the Katonah property testified Tuesday that Kennedy rents a room for $500 a month, however she acknowledged these funds started in Could, a day after a New York Submit story questioned the candidate’s declare that he lives in New York. Kennedy testified that he thought his assistant had been paying lease for the earlier 12 months and that he made positive funds began after the newspaper story.
The lawsuit towards Kennedy is backed by Clear Alternative PAC, an excellent PAC led by supporters of Democratic President Joe Biden. A decide is ready to resolve the result with no jury.
Kennedy’s marketing campaign has stated he has sufficient signatures to qualify in a majority of states, however his poll drive has confronted challenges and lawsuits in a number of states, together with North Carolina and New Jersey.
Related Press author Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
