Robert F Kennedy Jr expresses skepticism at official 9/11 account

In a podcast interview, the US presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr raised a conspiracy theory about 9/11 and also refused to say that al-Qaida was responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington DC.

“I don’t always accept official explanations,” he said.

Related: Vivek Ramaswamy condemned for 9/11 and Jan 6 conspiracy theory remarks

Kennedy, 69 and an attorney, is the son of the former US attorney general and New York senator Robert F Kennedy and nephew of President John F Kennedy.

Challenging Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year, Kennedy lags in polling but has nonetheless achieved an unusual level of coverage for an outsider running against an incumbent, in part due to his family history and prominence as an anti-vaccine campaigner.

Kennedy’s podcast interview was with Peter Bergen, host of In the Room and author of books including The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden and Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad.

Bergen first asked if Kennedy “bought” the official explanation of 9/11, as established by the bipartisan 9/11 commission, which concluded that al-Qaida was responsible for the attacks of 11 September 2001, in which planes were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while another airliner crashed in Pennsylvania. The attacks led to an immediate death toll of 2,977 (and thousands of related deaths since) and stoked more than two decades of war.

Kennedy said: “I don’t know what happened on 9/11. I mean, I understand what the official explanation [for 9/11] is, I understand that there is dissent. I have not looked into it. I haven’t examined it. I’m not a good person to talk to about it.”

Bergen said: “So there’s doubt in your mind that al-Qaida was responsible?”

Kennedy raised a well-known 9/11 conspiracy theory, that 7 World Trade Center, a building close to the twin towers, did not fall because of the attack nearby.

He said: “Well, I know … there’s strange things that happened, that don’t seem … One of the buildings [in New York] came down that wasn’t hit by a plane, so, you know, was it building seven or building 10?”

Bergen said: “That collapsed because two of the world’s biggest buildings collapsed on top of it.”

Before entering the political scene, Kennedy was an environmental attorney who worked on cleaning the Hudson River.

He said: “No, they didn’t collapse on top of it. My offices were down there [at the bottom of Manhattan]. My offices were closed and you know … there’s pictures of it collapsing. There’s nothing collapsing on top of it.

“I mean, listen, I don’t want to argue any theories about this because all I’ve heard is questions. I have no explanation. I have no knowledge of it. But … what you’re repeating now, I know not to be true.”

Commenting after the interview, Bergen said: “To clarify … the government’s official report found that building seven was hit with debris from the north tower [of the World Trade Center]. That impact caused fires, which led to the building collapse. It’s very well documented and there’s nothing ‘strange’ about it.”

Kennedy continued: “It’s not something that I, you know, any part of [it] I endorse one way or the other, but I do think that it ought to be permissible in this country to question official narratives.”

Bergen said: “I couldn’t agree with you more … I’ve spent three decades reporting on al-Qaida, interviewed Bin Laden and, you know, spent a lot of my life … going around the world reporting on this.”

Kennedy said he admired Bergen for it.

Bergen continued: “But just on the 9/11 investigation, you know, this was the largest criminal investigation in history. There are 500,000 leads, 170,000 witness interviews. You’re not accepting that that kind of was a – ”

Kennedy said: “Don’t tell me what I’m accepting or not … because I never said I don’t accept that.”

Bergen said: “OK, but what are you saying?”

Kennedy said: “I’m saying I have no expertise in it.”

Bergen said: “But you still have questions about it?”

Kennedy said: “Well … I haven’t read the data myself. And unfortunately for me, Peter, because it’s made my life kind of difficult … I don’t always accept official explanations.”

Commenting on the exchange, Bergen acknowledged “conspiracy theories out there surrounding 9/11” such as those concerning building seven at the World Trade Center.

“But it’s an area where I have looked at the evidence and interviewed many hundreds of people myself,” Bergen said. “And if your position is that the 9/11 commission’s explanation of September 11 … is somehow up for question, this kind of extreme skepticism is going to make being president, well, kinda tough.”