The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has finally released thousands of pages of official files related to the assassination of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy (JFK).
On Tuesday, March 18 (local time), the U.S. National Archives published these documents. The newly released secret files have sparked curiosity among historians and internet users alike. The report was first covered by Al Jazeera.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump assumed office for a second term as the President of the United States. Following his inauguration in January, he signed an executive order calling for the release of all remaining records related to the JFK assassination.
Notably, the order also mandated the declassification of documents related to the assassinations of JFK’s brother, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Following Trump’s directive, steps were taken to release the JFK assassination records. The U.S. National Archives announced on Tuesday that the documents are available both online and in person.
According to Al Jazeera, the archives have uploaded approximately 63,000 pages of documents in an initial phase on their website. More files will be digitized and made available online in the future.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, led by Tulsi Gabbard, stated that the publication includes nearly 80,000 pages of previously classified records.
Background of the JFK Assassination
In November 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated, and millions of pages of related records have been stored in the National Archives since then. However, thousands of these documents were withheld due to national security concerns at the request of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The Warren Commission, which investigated Kennedy’s assassination, concluded that former Marine sharpshooter Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in shooting the president.
However, this official conclusion did little to dispel speculation about a broader conspiracy behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas. The slow release of official records has fueled various conspiracy theories over the decades.
Kennedy was fatally shot on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. His assassination has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories for decades, as his tragic death shocked the entire world.
Five years after Kennedy’s assassination, in 1968, his brother Robert F. Kennedy was also assassinated in California while campaigning for the U.S. presidency. That same year, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
Until now, no U.S. president had shown any interest in publicly releasing classified reports related to these three high-profile assassinations. However, upon assuming office for a second term, Donald Trump took the initiative to declassify these secret records concerning the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr.