A Long Road to Declassification
During his first term, Trump authorized the release of tens of thousands of documents related to JFK’s assassination.
Certain files remained classified after agencies such as the CIA and FBI raised national security concerns. Trump’s Thursday order specifically directs the release of all remaining records pertaining to these events.
Upon signing the order, Trump remarked, “That’s a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long—for years, for decades.”
The JFK Files: A History of Controversy
The “JFK files” include thousands of investigative reports, memos, and communications related to President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.
The government’s conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone has fueled numerous conspiracy theories, leading to the passage of the JFK Records Act of 1992. This act mandated the release of all related documents by October 26, 2017, unless national security risks were cited.
While Trump began releasing files after the October 2017 deadline, he cited concerns about revealing sensitive sources and methods as reasons for delaying full disclosure.
