US President Donald Trump has directed officials to make plans to declassify documents related to three of the most pivotal assassinations in American history—the killings of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The move, announced on Thursday, has raised hopes among many long-time proponents of transparency who have waited for years to learn more about these iconic figures’ untimely deaths.
“A lot of people are waiting for this for long, for years, for decades,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And everything will be revealed.”
The order mandates that top administration officials present a plan for declassification within 15 days. While this signals a significant step forward, it does not guarantee the documents will be fully released, as the final decision will ultimately lie with the administration.
The deaths of the three men—Kennedy in 1963, Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and Martin Luther King Jr. later that same year—have remained among the most scrutinised and controversial events in US history. While many documents related to these investigations have been disclosed over time, a considerable number remain redacted, especially in relation to the extensive inquiry into JFK’s assassination.
JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who had defected to the Soviet Union before returning to the US. A government commission concluded that Oswald acted alone, but questions about the case have persisted, fostering alternative theories involving government agents, the mafia, and even more outlandish conspiracy narratives. Decades of opinion polls have shown that a majority of Americans doubt Oswald was the sole assassin.
In 1992, Congress passed a law requiring the release of all documents tied to the JFK investigation within 25 years. Despite partial disclosures during the presidencies of both Trump and Joe Biden, large swaths of the documents remain hidden. Trump had initially promised to declassify all relevant files during his first term, but was persuaded by CIA and FBI officials to withhold some documents. The new executive order asserts that continued secrecy is “not consistent with the public interest.”
Jefferson Morley, a prominent JFK assassination expert and editor of the online newsletter JFK Facts, expressed cautious optimism about the move. “As a statement of intention, it’s great that the president has put his promise into words on paper,” Morley said. “But the details and implementation are everything. This process is just beginning. How exactly this is going to be carried out is not at all clear.”
Recent document releases have already shed new light on the JFK assassination, including revelations about the CIA’s surveillance of Oswald. One new detail that has emerged from 2023 is from Paul Landis, an 88-year-old former Secret Service agent, who revealed he retrieved a bullet from the car after the shooting. This detail raises questions about the official narrative, specifically the theory of a single bullet that hit both JFK and Texas Governor John Connally, who was also injured in the attack.
Morley suggested that the full release of all redacted documents could provide significant insights, although he cautioned there might not be a “smoking gun” to definitively answer lingering questions. Security agencies such as the CIA are likely to push for maintaining some level of secrecy. “This story is not over,” he added.
In a symbolic gesture, Trump gave the pen he used to sign the executive order to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of RFK and nephew of JFK, who is also nominated by Trump to serve as the US Health Secretary. RFK Jr. has long cast doubt on the official accounts of both his father’s and uncle’s assassinations. He has publicly expressed skepticism about Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of killing his father, and has suggested that there may have been a larger conspiracy at play.
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. also remains a subject of controversy. While James Earl Ray was convicted of King’s murder, members of the King family have long alleged that Ray did not act alone, suggesting the involvement of a broader conspiracy.
As the debate surrounding these high-profile assassinations continues, Trump’s move to declassify the related documents has reignited public interest, and many will be watching closely to see how much of the truth will finally be revealed.
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