Trump Directs Documents Associated With the Assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK to Be Declassified

Trump has pushed for openness by ordering authorities to declassify papers related to the killings of JFK, RFK, and MLK.

President Donald Trump of the United States has instructed officials to prepare to declassify records pertaining to three of the most significant assassinations in American history: the murders of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy, and his brother Robert F. Kennedy. 

For many longtime supporters of transparency who have been waiting years to find out more about the tragic deaths of these legendary personalities, the announcement on Thursday has given them hope. 

“Many people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump said to reporters in the White House. “And all will become clear.” 

Top administration officials must provide a declassification strategy within 15 days, according to the rule. The government will eventually make the final decision, so even while this is a big step forward, it does not ensure that the records will be completely published. 

The deaths of the three men—Martin Luther King Jr. later that year, Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and John F. Kennedy in 1963—continue to be some of the most contested and closely watched incidents in American history.

Even though a lot of the papers pertaining to these investigations have been made public over time, many of them are still redacted, particularly those pertaining to the comprehensive investigation into JFK’s assassination.

Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Soviet defector who later returned to the United States, shot JFK. Although a government panel found that Oswald acted alone, the case has continued to raise doubts, leading to other ideas about government agents, the mafia, and even more bizarre conspiracy theories. 

According to decades’ worth of opinion polls, most Americans don’t believe Oswald was the only assassin. 

Congress enacted legislation in 1992 mandating the 25-year release of all papers related to the JFK inquiry. Both Trump and Joe Biden’s administrations saw some partial releases, but vast portions of the materials are still secret. Trump was convinced to keep certain papers by CIA and FBI personnel, despite his earlier pledge to declassify all pertinent files during his first term. Continued secrecy is “not consistent with the public interest,” according to the new presidential order. 

The action was met with cautious optimism by Jefferson Morley, a well-known specialist on the JFK assassination and publisher of the online journal JFK Facts. Morley remarked, “It’s fantastic that the president has written down his pledge as a declaration of intent.” The execution and the specifics, however, are crucial. This is only the start of the process. The specifics of how this will be implemented are completely unclear. 

New information on the CIA’s surveillance of Oswald Oswald has already been made public in recent document releases that have illuminated the JFK assassination. In 2023, Paul Landis, an 88-year-old former Secret Service agent, disclosed that he had recovered a bullet from the vehicle following the incident. Particularly, the idea that a single bullet struck both JFK and Texas Governor John Connally, who was also wounded in the assault, is called into question by this information. 

Although he warned that there might not be a “smoking gun” to conclusively address unanswered concerns, Morley claimed that the complete release of all censored papers could yield important insights. A certain amount of confidentiality will probably be pushed for by security organizations like the CIA. “There is still more to this story,” he said. 

Trump delivered the pen he used to sign the executive order to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JFK’s nephew and RFK’s son, as a symbolic gesture. Kennedy is also Trump’s nominee to be the US Health Secretary. For a long time, RFK Jr. has questioned the official versions of the assassinations of his father and uncle. In public, he has voiced doubts about Sirhan Sirhan, the man found guilty of killing his father, and implied that a wider conspiracy could have been involved. 

There is still debate around the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. Although King was murdered by James Earl Ray, the King family has long claimed that Ray was not acting alone and that there was a larger conspiracy involved. 

Many will be keenly observing to see how much of the truth will eventually be disclosed as Trump’s decision to declassify the relevant records has rekindled public interest in the ongoing controversy around these high-profile killings.