The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that his administration will be releasing around 80,000 pages of files regarding the assassination of John F Kennedy on Tuesday. Kennedy’s assassination has sparked various conspiracy theories for over sixty years.
Speaking at the Kennedy Center on Monday, Trump mentioned that the released files will contain a substantial amount of information on the killing of the 35th US president, who was shot in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
Trump stated, “We do not intend to censor anything. I made it clear that there should be no redactions.” He further added, “But we will be unveiling the JFK files.”
When asked if he had reviewed the contents of the files, Trump confirmed that he was aware of what they contained.
“It will be quite intriguing,” he remarked.
Trump’s comments come after issuing an executive order in January for the release of all remaining records related to the JFK assassination, as well as files concerning the assassinations of Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
As per the order, Trump directed the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to devise a plan within 15 days for the complete release of files on the JFK assassination.
In a recent statement, the FBI disclosed that their searches to comply with the order uncovered about 2,400 new files linked to the assassination.
The circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination have intrigued American society for many years, with surveys indicating that a majority of Americans are skeptical of official explanations.
According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2023, 65 percent of Americans do not believe the Warren Commission’s conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald, a US Marine veteran arrested for JFK’s assassination, acted alone in the murder.
Of those surveyed, 20 percent thought Oswald conspired with the US government, while 16 percent believed he collaborated with the CIA.
Trump had pledged during his first term to release all remaining records on the assassination but ultimately only made public about 2,800 documents after requests from the CIA and FBI to withhold thousands of pages pending review.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, approximately 17,000 more records were released, leaving fewer than 4,700 files partially or fully withheld.
As per the National Archives, authorities have made public over 99 percent of the approximately 320,000 documents reviewed under the 1992 JFK Records Act.
The legislation required the disclosure of all remaining files by October 26, 2017, unless the president determined that their release would result in “identifiable harm” to national defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or foreign relations of such magnitude that it “outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
