Kennedy’s daughter recalled the whale incident in a 2012 interview with Town and Country magazine, which recently resurfaced and was shared extensively on social media.

"I received a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Institute saying that they were investigating me for collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago," he stated at the event.

Katherine Silverstein, a spokesperson for NOAA, told the Times that the federal agency typically does not comment on open investigations.

Kennedy Jr. is under federal investigation for an incident involving a dead whale that dates back two decades. The National Marine Fisheries Service confirmed the probe, which follows allegations that Kennedy cut off the head of a deceased whale and transported it home.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is under investigation for allegedly cutting the head off a dead whale carcass more than 20 years as new details of the harrowing incident emerge