On January 23, 2025, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring the declassification of all remaining government records related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. this marks a historic move toward transparency in handling three touchstones of American history that for over half a century have created a public interest bordering on speculation.
In an executive order Trump signed at the White House, he instructs the Director of National Intelligence and Attorney General to develop a plan for making all full assassination records public. Plans are due within 15 days for JFK files, while the deadline is 45 days for RFK and MLK. “A lot of people have been waiting for this for decades,” said Trump. He furthered, saying that “transparency and accountability are core tenets of our democracy.”.
Assassinations That Shaped a Nation
JFK, who was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas: Over six decades, despite the conclusion by the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, there had been theories and speculations linking government agents and agencies with Oswald or independently, and there were even ones blaming it on the Mafia.
RFK-Robert F. Kennedy: He was assassinated in Los Angeles, California, on June 5, 1968, while vying for the presidency. The alleged assassin identified was Sirhan Sirhan; however, further involvement questions remained open.
Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK): Assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty; however, many, including some members of King’s family, believe that there was an overall conspiracy.
That means the 1992 President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act compelled the display of all related JFK documents no later than October of 2017. However, moves by then-President Trump once in his first term, and again by President Joe Biden, waved off those requirements on claims this file release compromised national security interests. This latest executive order from President Biden should wipe those postponements off and make everything released in completeness.
Past document releases revealed bits of tantalizing information: some of it evidence of extensive surveillance of Oswald by the CIA, as well as anomalies that contradict the “single bullet theory.” Well, on day one of 2023 a former Secret Service agent made a very questionable addition to a story: details about the time JFK met his demise. Scholars such as Jefferson Morley have long held that still-secret documents could substantially broaden public knowledge of those events, although what “smoking gun” disclosures may result is yet to be seen.
The advocates of transparency, historians, and public figures have all expressed cautious optimism. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of RFK who was named by Trump as Secretary of Health and Human Services, has taken to Twitter to embrace the release of the files to the public as a “key step to a full understanding of the truth.”.Yet, questions are there if redactions or inconclusive information will leave substantial portions of that story unanswered.
As Jefferson Morley, a journalist and expert on the JFK assassination, put it, “As a statement of intention this is significant: but the details and implementation are critical. The story is far from over.” The declassification promises to shine new light on key moments in American history and perhaps alter the public memory of it. Still, for many, it is a promise of clarity and closure that, given the many partial disclosures which have surfaced over the years, some say rings a little hollow-particularly as the suspicions regarding the motives behind imposed delays persist.
