Trump releases classified JFK, RFK, and MLK assassination files
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US President Donald Trump releases classified files pertaining to the assassinations of JFK, his brother, and Martin Luther King Jr., fulfilling a long-held pledge.
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President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade approximately one minute before he was shot, Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas (AP)
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday declassifying files related to the 1960s assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
"A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades," Trump said as he signed the order in the Oval Office. "Everything will be revealed."
After signing the order, Trump handed the pen used to an aide, instructing, "Give that to RFK Jr." Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
RFK has stated that he believes the CIA was responsible for his uncle's assassination in 1963.
"There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in [John F Kennedy's] murder. I think it’s beyond a reasonable doubt at this point," the candidate said on WABC 770 AM's Cats Roundtable show with John Catsimatidis while referring to James Douglas' book "JFK and the Unspeakable."
The National Archives has released tens of thousands of records over the years concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. However, thousands of documents remained classified due to national security concerns. As of December 2022, the National Archives reported that 97% of Kennedy-related records—comprising approximately five million pages—had been made public.
Speculations surrounding deaths
The Warren Commission, tasked with investigating Kennedy's assassination, concluded that former Marine sharpshooter Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the shooting. Despite this, speculation about broader conspiracies has persisted for decades, fueled by the gradual release of government documents.
President Joe Biden, during the December 2022 release of Kennedy-related records, stated that a "limited" number of files would remain classified at the request of certain "agencies." These agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have previously sought to withhold documents.
During Trump’s first term, thousands of Kennedy-related files were made public, but he also withheld some records citing national security concerns. The latest order aims to fully open the files, addressing longstanding demands for transparency about these pivotal moments in American history.
Kennedy scholars have held that the classified documents were unlikely to contain any key revelations or put to bed the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's assassination.
Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998 but King's children have expressed doubts in the past that Ray was the assassin, dubbing the FBI as the culprit.
