JFK Assassination Files: Thousands of Unredacted Documents Released

Tens of thousands of files on the assassination of John F. Kennedy were released on Tuesday, fulfilling a campaign promise from President Donald Trump to declassify the documents.

The Details: In January, Trump signed an executive order to declassify government files regarding the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Key Quote: While touring the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, Trump said, “While we’re here, I thought it would be appropriate — we are, tomorrow, announcing and giving all of the Kennedy files. So, people have been waiting for decades for this, and I’ve instructed my people … lots of different people, [Director of National Intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard, that they must be released tomorrow."

For Context: In 1992, Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which required the National Archives to keep and publicly release all assassination-related material in a single collection. The FBI discovered about 2,400 records now recognized as related to the assassination last month. Currently, about 97% of the records are available to the public, according to the National Archives.

How the Media Covered It: Sources across the political spectrum reported that the assassination of Kennedy in November 1963 has remained a point of public interest for decades. This interest has led to many theories about the involvement of the CIA or the existence of multiple shooters.

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