DALLAS — President Donald Trump has authorized the declassification of thousands of governmental documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, an event that has sparked numerous conspiracy theories over the years.
The executive order, signed by Trump on Thursday, also encompasses declassifying the remaining federal records tied to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. This action is part of a series of executive measures taken by Trump during the initial days of his second term.
In remarks to the media, Trump asserted, “everything will be revealed.”
During his campaign for re-election, Trump pledged to unveil the final groups of previously classified documents concerning President Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, an event that has captured public interest for decades. Although he had made similar commitments during his first term, he ultimately decided to withhold certain documents following pressure from the CIA and FBI.
Notably, Trump has appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of President Kennedy, as his health secretary. Robert F. Kennedy lost his life in 1968 when he was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. The younger Kennedy has expressed skepticism regarding the narrative that a single shooter was entirely responsible for his uncle’s assassination in 1963.
The executive order mandates that the director of national intelligence and the attorney general formulate a plan within 15 days to release the outstanding JFK records, with a deadline of 45 days to address the other two cases. However, the timeline for the actual release of these documents remains uncertain.
After signing the order, Trump passed the pen to an aide, requesting that it be presented to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
While a limited number of the millions of records associated with President Kennedy’s assassination have been made publicly available, experts indicate that there might not be groundbreaking revelations in the newly released documents. Nonetheless, significant interest endures regarding the details surrounding the assassination and related events.
Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, noted, “There’s always the possibility that something would slip through that would be the tiny tip of a much larger iceberg that would be revealing. That’s what researchers look for. Now, the odds are you won’t find that, but it is possible that it’s there.”
President Kennedy was shot and killed in downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963, as he traveled in a motorcade past the Texas School Book Depository building, where 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald had taken aim from a sixth-floor position. Just two days after Kennedy’s assassination, Oswald was killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby during a prison transfer.
In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all documents related to assassinations be centralized in a single collection at the National Archives and Records Administration. This collection, containing over 5 million records, was scheduled for public access by 2017, except for any exemptions designated by the president.
The order emphasizes that although no congressional mandate exists directing the public release of information concerning the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy or King, the disclosure of these governmental records serves the public interest.
During his first term, Trump indicated that he would allow full access to the remaining records regarding President Kennedy’s assassination but ultimately withheld some, citing potential threats to national security. Documents have continued to be disclosed under President Joe Biden’s administration, yet some remain classified.
Sabato stated that most researchers concur that approximately 3,000 records still await release, either in part or in full, many of which are associated with the CIA.
The documents that have been made public in recent years provide insights into how intelligence agencies operated during that era, including CIA communications and memos about Oswald’s visits to Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City shortly before the assassination. Prior to this tragic event, Oswald had defected to the Soviet Union before returning to Texas.
Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated within two months of each other in 1968. King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, while advocating for striking sanitation workers. He succumbed to his injuries less than an hour later.
James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to King’s assassination but later recanted, maintaining his innocence until his death.
Over the years, FBI documents have revealed the agency’s intrusive measures against King, including wiretaps, bugging of hotel rooms, and the use of informants. These actions were the subject of the recent film, “MLK/FBI.”
Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot on June 5, 1968, at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel immediately after he delivered a victory speech for winning the California Democratic primary. His assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, was apprehended and is currently serving a life sentence.
It is important to note that several documents from the JFK collection are unlikely to be released under the new order. Around 500 of these documents, including tax returns, were not covered by the 2017 disclosure requirement. Additionally, researchers fear that some documents have been lost or destroyed over the years.
