Donald Trump has announced that previously withheld documents related to the assassination of former US President John F. Kennedy will be made public on Tuesday. The revelation came during his visit to the Kennedy Centre in Washington, where he informed reporters of the decision.
“While we’re here, I thought it’d be appropriate—we are, tomorrow, announcing and giving all of the Kennedy files,” Trump stated. The move follows an executive order he signed on 23 January, which called for the declassification of the JFK assassination records, a topic that has fuelled conspiracy theories for more than six decades.
The declassification order also extends to documents concerning the assassinations of Kennedy’s younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. While Trump did not disclose specific details about the content of the files set for release, he emphasised their sheer volume, saying, “We have a tremendous amount of paper, you’ve got a lot of reading.” He also suggested that there would be no redactions in the documents.
Over the years, the US National Archives has gradually released tens of thousands of records related to Kennedy’s assassination in November 22, 1963, though some have remained classified for national security reasons. The most recent large-scale release in December 2022 brought the total percentage of declassified JFK records to 97%, out of an estimated five million pages.
The official investigation, led by the Warren Commission, concluded that Kennedy was shot by former Marine sharpshooter Lee Harvey Oswald, who acted alone. However, the slow and selective release of government files has continued to fuel widespread speculation about a broader conspiracy. The forthcoming document drop is expected to reignite public interest in one of the most scrutinised political assassinations in history.
