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

Without confirming or denying he took the whale head, the former Independent candidate for president noted that the deadline to bring charges passed long ago.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is under federal investigation for an incident involving a dead whale that dates back two decades.

"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.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in the spin room after a presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris,

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