Trump releases MLK files amid Epstein document pressure
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Trump’s sudden release of thousands of Martin Luther King Jr. assassination documents raises questions, as scrutiny intensifies over the president's past ties to Epstein.
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FILE - Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks to thousands during his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington. (AP)
The Trump administration has published more than 6,000 documents, amounting to nearly 250,000 pages, related to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in what officials described as a major act of government transparency. The documents, housed in various federal facilities for decades, were quietly uploaded to the National Archives website late Monday.
Although the release was presented as a historic disclosure, several historians and King scholars expressed skepticism, noting that the files added little substantive information about the circumstances of Dr. King’s death. Notably, the FBI’s surveillance tapes of Dr. King remain sealed under court order until 2027.
The newly released material includes investigative notes, interviews with associates of King’s assassin, James Earl Ray, and documents from international intelligence services involved in the global search for Ray. Officials stated that many of these materials had not previously been digitized and had remained untouched for years. However, due to age and poor preservation, some documents are difficult to decipher.
Among the contents is a single audio file, a partial interview with Jerry Ray, brother of James Earl Ray. The remainder of the collection includes public tips, media clippings, and details about Ray’s personal activities, including locksmith training, dance classes, and use of aliases inspired by fictional spy characters.
Nothing new
David Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Dr. King, reviewed the collection and reported no significant new findings. “I saw nothing that struck me as new,” Garrow stated. His previous work drew attention in 2019 when he cited controversial allegations from earlier FBI records, which many historians rejected as unreliable and reflective of the FBI’s disinformation efforts during the tenure of J. Edgar Hoover.
These efforts included extensive wiretapping and surveillance aimed at undermining Dr. King’s leadership and damaging the civil rights movement. While summaries of those operations have previously surfaced, the original surveillance tapes and transcripts remain under seal. A federal judge recently denied a Justice Department motion to unseal them ahead of schedule.
Although Dr. King's extramarital affairs have been documented, more serious accusations, such as his alleged presence during a 1964 rape, are viewed by many scholars and King family members as fabrications. Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, urged caution when interpreting the newly released records, stating, “I’m skeptical of anything I read from FBI files about M.L.K.”
Dr. King’s children slam surveillance campaign as 'invasive'
Dr. King’s children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, echoed these concerns in a joint statement, calling the surveillance campaign against their father “invasive” and “predatory". They urged the public to approach the documents with “empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”
It remains unclear whether the King family was notified or allowed to request redactions before the release. However, the administration’s announcement included supportive remarks from Dr. King’s niece, Alveda King, a prominent Trump ally, who called the publication “a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.”
As a candidate, Donald Trump had pledged to release classified records related to major political assassinations, including those of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. King. Earlier this year, the administration released documents related to the JFK assassination, though they also revealed little new information.
