DALLAS — Over six decades after the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy, curiosity and conspiracy theories continue to abound regarding the events of November 22, 1963, in Dallas.
President Donald Trump, during his recent reelection campaign, expressed a commitment to declassifying all outstanding government documents related to the assassination should he return to office. This pledge mirrors his earlier promise during his first term, although he ultimately acquiesced to requests from the FBI and CIA, opting to keep some records under wraps.
Currently, only a fraction of the millions of governmental files regarding the assassination remain unreleased. Experts who have examined the available documents caution that the declassification of the remaining files may not yield any groundbreaking insights. “Anyone anticipating a smoking gun that will radically change the understanding of this case is likely to be disappointed,” remarked Gerald Posner, the author of “Case Closed,” which asserts that Lee Harvey Oswald acted independently in the assassination.
The 61st anniversary on Friday is anticipated to be observed with a moment of silence at 12:30 p.m. at Dealey Plaza, the site where Kennedy’s motorcade was traveling when he was shot. Throughout the week, various events have been organized to honor this somber milestone.
On that fateful November day in 1963, Air Force One carrying Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline arrived in Dallas to a sunny sky and enthusiastic crowds. Their visit, planned as a political reconciliation trip ahead of the subsequent year’s reelection campaign, took a shocking turn.
As the motorcade concluded its route through downtown Dallas, gunshots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository, resulting in Oswald’s arrest at age 24. Just two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during his jail transfer.
A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission, set up by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the incident, concluded that Oswald had acted alone, dismissing any collaborative conspiracy. Despite this, a myriad of alternative theories has emerged over time, capturing the public’s imagination.
In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents must be compiled into a single collection at the National Archives and Records Administration. This collection, containing over 5 million documents, was set to be opened by 2017, excluding any files classified by the president.
When Trump assumed office in 2017, he initially proposed to release the remaining records but later withheld some due to concerns about national security risks. President Joe Biden’s administration has also continued to release documents, yet several significant files remain inaccessible.
The recently released documents shed light on the operations of intelligence agencies at the time, featuring CIA memos and cables related to Oswald’s visits to Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City, mere weeks before the assassination. The former Marine had previously defected to the Soviet Union before returning to Texas.
Mark S. Zaid, a Washington-based national security attorney, noted that the released materials offer vital context about the Cold War era and CIA activities.
Posner estimates that between 3,000 to 4,000 documents in the collection remain unreleased. Some of these documents are entirely redacted, while others have minor redactions, such as Social Security numbers. Posner highlighted that 500 documents have been fully redacted, including tax returns for both Oswald and Ruby.
“If you have been following this closely, you tend to zero in on particular pages that might hold additional historical information,” Posner said.
Trump’s transition team has not addressed inquiries this week regarding his plans for these documents if he resumes office.
The pair of events has contributed to the ongoing fascination surrounding the assassination. Stephen Fagin, the curator of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, believes that many feel compelled to uncover a deeper truth than simply Oswald acting alone. “People seek to rationalize this tragedy and aim to find a solution that aligns with the crime,” Fagin stated, adding that despite lingering doubts, law enforcement presented a convincing case against Oswald.
Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, expressed his keen interest in the assassination that began during the incident itself when he was a child. “It seemed surreal that one severely disturbed individual could perpetrate what is often dubbed the crime of the century,” Sabato reflected. “As I delved deeper, I found it increasingly plausible, perhaps even likely.”