US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday mandating the “full and complete release” of government records related to the 1960s assassinations of US President John F. Kennedy (JFK), Senator Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK).
Several decades have passed since the assassinations, which occurred between 1963 and 1968, but government records surrounding their deaths remain partially classified.
Though suspects were tried and convicted in the RFK and MLK assassinations, and another was charged with JFK’s murder, but murdered before he could stand trial, mystery continues to shroud all three deaths. Given the prominence and political influence of the Kennedys and King, the assassinations have long been fodder for speculation of political involvement and other conspiracy theories.
Furthermore, surviving family members and admirers have long sought a complete picture of their demises. In a related matter, recently released information related to another high-profile 1960s assassination — the 1965 killing Malcolm X — caused the deceased civil rights leader’s daughters to file a $100 million lawsuit against the US government in November. On the basis of the newly revealed information, the daughters allege a complex conspiracy behind their father’s murder and a decades-long cover-up.
In light of intense public interest in the JFK case, Congress enacted a law in 1992 mandating the release of all government records related the 1963 presidential assassination 25 years from the law’s enactment, in 2017. The law stipulated that whoever was serving as US President in 2017 could postpone the release due to identifiable risks to US military security, intelligence operations, or foreign relations.
The release date arrived during Trump’s first presidency (2016-2021), at which point he accepted federal agencies’ proposed redactions of the JFK records, but ordered further evaluation of the harm the redacted information might pose. According to materials released by the White House on Thursday, these redaction certifications were renewed during Biden’s presidency.
In his executive order, Trump stated:
I have now determined that the continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue. And although no Act of Congress directs the release of information pertaining to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have determined that the release of all records in the Federal Government’s possession pertaining to each of those assassinations is also in the public interest.
The order requires intelligence officials to present a plan within 15 days for releasing remaining records about the JFK assassination, while giving agencies 45 days to outline disclosure plans for documents concerning the 1968 killings of RFK and MLK. The declassification plans will be developed by the Director of National Intelligence and Attorney General in coordination with national security officials and White House counsel.
