ROBERT Kennedy Jr. has privately apologized to the woman who accused him of groping her in the late 1990s.
The 70-year-old Independent presidential candidate texted his accuser, Eliza Cooney, at 12:33 am on July 4, claiming he had no recollection of the event but extended his apology.
Cooney was 23 years old at the time and working as a weekend nanny for Kennedy Jr.’s family to look after his four children, according to Vanity Fair.
During one alleged incident late one night in 1998, Cooney claims Kennedy Jr. approached her and began harassing her.
Kennedy Jr. then began rubbing his hand on her thigh under the table, according to a diary entry obtained by Vanity Fair.
Weeks later, Cooney claims a then-45-year-old Kennedy Jr. asked her to rub lotion on his back.
The young babysitter complained “reluctantly and quickly,” the outlet reported.
Cooney recalled a third incident when Kennedy Jr. allegedly cornered her in the pantry and groped her hips and breasts.
Kennedy Jr. refused to comment on the specifics of the allegations during an appearance on The Hill’s web series Breaking Point.
“Listen, I’ve said this from the beginning. I’m not a church boy. I am not running like that. I said my – I had a very, very rambunctious youth,” the presidential hopeful told the outlet at the time.
“I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they – if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world.
“So, you know, Vanity Fair is recycling 30-year-old stories. And, I’m not, you know, going to comment on the details of any of them, but it’s, you know, I am who I am.”
Now, in a late-night text on July 4 to Cooney, Kennedy Jr. apologized for the alleged incident but admitted he did not remember the encounter.
“I have no memory of this incident, but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings,” the text by Kennedy Jr. read, according to The Washington Post.
“I never intended you any harm. If I hurt you, it was inadvertent. I feel badly for doing so.
“If you feel comfortable, Id [sic] like to tell you this by phone and preferably, face to face.
“I recognize that this might not be possible. I have no agenda for sending this text other than making the most sincere and ernest [sic] amends.”
The text was sent two days after Vanity Fair reported on the alleged incident.
Cooney, now 48, slammed the presidential candidate for his incompetent apology.
“It was disingenuous and arrogant,” Cooney told The Washington Post.
“I’m not sure how somebody has a true apology for something that they don’t admit to recall.
“I did not get a sense of remorse,” she said, expressing concerns about his proposal to meet in person.
“Meet ‘face to face?’ What woman wants to do that?” Cooney said.
In the Vanity Fair report, Kennedy Jr. was accused of eating a dog during one of his trips to Asia.
The outlet published a disturbing photo of Kennedy Jr. holding a large barbequed animal on a metal spit as he pretended to take a bit out of its ribs.
However, Kennedy Jr. dismissed the reports and argued the animal in the image was a goat.
“Hey @VanityFair, you know when your veterinary experts call a goat a dog, and your forensic experts say a photo taken in Patagonia was taken in Korea, that you’ve joined the ranks of supermarket tabloids,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Keep telling America that up is down if you want. I’ll keep talking about the fact that working families can’t afford houses or groceries because our last two presidents went on a $14 trillion debt joyride, paid for by hard-working Americans.
“The DNC media’s garbage pail journalism may distract us from President Biden’s cognitive deficits but it does little to elevate the national debate or reduce the price of groceries.”
Kennedy Jr. is still fighting to get his name on the ballot nationwide before the November election.
