President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump had promised to release the previously classified documents during his 2024 campaign, and the order aims to fulfill that promise. The documents have been the subject of decades of speculation and conspiracy theories.
The order states that the continued redaction and withholding of information on the JFK assassination is not consistent with the public interest and that the release of these records is long overdue. The order also applies to the assassinations of RFK and MLK, determining that the release of all records in the government’s possession is in the public interest.
The King family has expressed hope to review the files as a family prior to their public release, while U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna praised the declassification, saying that the government has hidden information from the American people for too long and that the truth belongs to the people.
The release of the documents is a significant event, and it remains to be seen how the president will speed up the process. The remaining files pertaining to Martin Luther King Jr. are not due for release until 2027, while the files on JFK and RFK are already under appeal from the CIA and FBI, citing concerns about potential harm to U.S. national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs.
