US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he will “immediately” released the classified documents related to the assassinations of President Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
“I’m going to release them immediately. We’re going to see the information. We are looking at it right now,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Trump, who sworn-in as the 47th President on Monday, recalled his previous term could not release some documents related to Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, bowing to pressure from the intelligence community who urged Trump to keep the information under wraps citing national security concerns.
Trump said Wednesday that Mike Pompeo who served as CIA director and, later, Secretary of State was among those who urged him to keep some files classified.
“He (Mike Pompeo) felt it was just not a good time to release them,” Trump said.
What is President Kennedy files?
It has been over the six decades after President John F Kennedy‘s assassination, but still the speculation persists, and any additional information about November 22, 1963, in Dallas continues to draw public interest.
Currently, only a small fraction of the millions of government documents concerning the assassination remain unreleased. Researchers who have examined the available records suggest that the eventual release of remaining files is unlikely to produce significant discoveries.
During his first term, Trump initially promised complete disclosure but subsequently retained certain documents, citing national security concerns. The Biden administration has continued releasing files, though some remain classified.
Recent releases have revealed intelligence operations of the era, including CIA communications about Oswald’s visits to Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City shortly before the assassination. Oswald, a former Marine, had previously defected to the Soviet Union before returning to Texas.
National security lawyer Mark S Zaid noted that released documents have enhanced understanding of Cold War dynamics and CIA operations during that period.
What happened on November 22, 1963?
The Kennedys arrived in Dallas to clear skies and welcoming crowds on Air Force One. The visit was part of a political reconciliation effort in Texas, with re-election campaigns approaching the following year.
The motorcade route through downtown ended tragically when gunfire erupted from the Texas School Book Depository building. Authorities apprehended Oswald, aged 24, and two days afterwards, Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during his prison transfer.
The Warren Commission, established by President Lyndon B Johnson, concluded their investigation a year later, determining that Oswald acted independently without evidence of conspiracy. Nevertheless, various alternative theories have persisted throughout the decades.
In the early 1990s, legislation required all assassination-related materials to be consolidated at the National Archives and Records Administration. This collection, containing over 5 million records, was scheduled for release by 2017, subject to presidential exemptions.
What are the documents that are still classified?
Approximately 3,000 to 4,000 documents remain partially or fully classified. About 500 documents are completely withheld, including tax records for Oswald and Ruby, which were exempt from the 2017 disclosure requirement.
The Sixth Floor Museum curator Stephen Fagin observes that public scepticism about the lone gunman theory existed from the beginning, though law enforcement built a strong case against Oswald.
Larry J. Sabato, who developed interest in the case as a child, acknowledged that while the idea of a single disturbed individual committing such a momentous crime seemed improbable, his research suggested it as a likely scenario.
