DALLAS – Late Tuesday evening, unredacted documents concerning the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy were made publicly available. Comprising about 2,200 files and exceeding 63,000 pages, these documents were uploaded to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s website, greatly enhancing public access to information. The National Archives holds a collection of over 6 million related pages, which includes records, photographs, films, audio recordings, and artifacts, most of which have already been disclosed.
Previously, President Donald Trump had announced the impending release of these files, estimating the content at approximately 80,000 pages. “It’s a massive quantity of documents. There’s plenty to go through,” Trump commented while visiting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
The assassination of JFK has long been a source of fascination and fueled numerous conspiracy theories.
Shortly after assuming office, Trump commanded the release of the remaining classified files linked to the assassination. He tasked the national intelligence director and attorney general with formulating a method to disclose these records. This order also targeted the declassification of federal documents concerning the 1968 assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. After signing the order, Trump passed the pen to an aide, instructing that it be given to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent health official in the Trump administration. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., John F. Kennedy’s nephew and Robert F. Kennedy’s son, is known for his anti-vaccine views, which have distanced him from many family members. He expresses doubts over whether his uncle’s assassination was the work of a lone gunman.
On November 22, 1963, Dallas witnessed a historic and tragic visit from JFK and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, greeted by clear skies and cheering crowds. The trip aimed at political diplomacy as JFK prepared for re-election in the following year. Yet, the motorcade’s route turned into a scene of horror as shots surged from the Texas School Book Depository building. Twenty-four-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended shortly afterward, accused of executing the shots from a vantage point on the sixth floor. However, Oswald was unable to stand trial, as nightclub owner Jack Ruby took his life during a jail transfer just two days later.
A year after the tragic event, the Warren Commission, initiated by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson, determined that Oswald acted alone, though this conclusion hasn’t stifled alternative theories that have emerged over time.
In the early 1990s, federal directives ensured that all documents pertaining to the assassination were consolidated within a singular collection at the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection was slated for disclosure by 2017, with any exemptions designated only by direct presidential order. Yet, upon entering office in 2017, Trump initially promised total disclosure of the remaining files but later withheld some, citing potential risks to national security. While file releases persisted under President Joe Biden’s term, a portion remains hidden.
According to the National Archives, the majority of the immense collection has already been made public. However, experts estimate about 3,000 files, whether whole or in part, remain unreleased. Last month, the FBI identified approximately 2,400 additional records tied to the assassination, committing to submit these to the National Archives for declassification. Notably, about 500 documents, including personal tax returns, were not within the remit of the 2017 release mandate.
Documents from past releases have unveiled insights into the operation methods of intelligence services during that era. These include CIA communications about Oswald’s visits to Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City shortly before the assassination. Prior to returning to Texas, the former Marine had defected to the Soviet Union, imbuing the situation with additional intrigue.
One pertinent CIA note highlights Oswald’s call to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City to seek a visa for a Soviet visit. His engagement with the Cuban Embassy appears to revolve around obtaining a travel visa to enter Cuba and subsequently await Soviet approval. By October 3, over a month prior to the assassination, Oswald had re-entered the United States via the Texas border. Another significant document, dated just a day after JFK’s assassination, alludes to an intercepted conversation indicating Oswald had previously communicated with a KGB officer at the Soviet Embassy. These releases have enriched our comprehension of that turbulent Cold War era, enhancing historical understanding, researchers noted.