Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy’s former running mate during his independent campaign for the presidency, allegedly offered $500,000 to a reporter to share their list of sources, according to a profile of the Silicon Valley lawyer-turned political candidate.
The allegations were detailed in a new Washington Post profile of the vice presidential candidate, who has since joined Kennedy in embracing Republican nominee Donald Trump and launched a campaign to “Make America Healthy Again.”
According to the report, Shanahan contacted an associate of a Post reporter in June, months before Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed the former president.
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Shanahan allegedly told the associate to offer the journalist “half a million dollars to be a whistleblower” to expose the sources for the story, many of whom chose to remain anonymous. The reporters interviewed 34 people for the wide-ranging profile, which covered Shanahan’s early career in patent law, her relationship with her ex-husband, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and her political transformation.
Shanahan reportedly said people were spreading false information about her. The reporter did not respond to the $500,000 offer, according to the newspaper.
Brin and Shanahan finalized their divorce in 2023. The specific details of the couples’ divorce settlement are not public, but a Forbes report found that she could have gotten close to $1 billion from Alphabet shares, cash, and assets.
Shanahan did not sit down for an interview with the Post. She did offer specific answers to questions sent by email, and told the paper “I’m so sorry you feel it is appropriate to do this for political motivations.”
The former vice presidential candidate also did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
