President Donald Trump signed an order on Thursday to declassify the assassination files of former President John F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
As he signed the order, Trump said, “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.” The president then instructed his aide to give the pen he signed the order with to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary and the son of RFK and nephew of JFK.
WATCH:
BREAKING: President Trump signs an Executive Order to declassify the JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. filespic.twitter.com/X0GwLocBnS
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 23, 2025
When more JFK files were made public in 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration said 97% of the roughly 5 million pages were public, but around 3,000 documents remained classified and another 30,000 had redactions, CBS News reported. Trump has promised since his first term in office to make all of the files public. Questions have swirled for decades around President Kennedy’s assassination, which occurred in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
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“More than 50 years after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Federal Government has not released to the public all of its records related to those events. Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth. It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” Trump’s executive order states.
All records relating to JFK’s assassination were to be made public by 2017 as specified by the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, but Trump “accepted proposed redactions from executive departments and agencies (agencies) in 2017 and 2018” while ordering “the continued re-evaluation of those remaining redactions.” Former President Joe Biden then allowed agencies to take additional time to review the files and withhold information from the public.
“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,” Trump’s order continues. “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.”
Per the order, the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General will have 15 days to “present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy” and 45 days to “review records related to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of these records.”
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[[{“value”:”
President Donald Trump signed an order on Thursday to declassify the assassination files of former President John F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
As he signed the order, Trump said, “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.” The president then instructed his aide to give the pen he signed the order with to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary and the son of RFK and nephew of JFK.
WATCH:
BREAKING: President Trump signs an Executive Order to declassify the JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. filespic.twitter.com/X0GwLocBnS
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 23, 2025
When more JFK files were made public in 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration said 97% of the roughly 5 million pages were public, but around 3,000 documents remained classified and another 30,000 had redactions, CBS News reported. Trump has promised since his first term in office to make all of the files public. Questions have swirled for decades around President Kennedy’s assassination, which occurred in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT
“More than 50 years after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Federal Government has not released to the public all of its records related to those events. Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth. It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” Trump’s executive order states.
All records relating to JFK’s assassination were to be made public by 2017 as specified by the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, but Trump “accepted proposed redactions from executive departments and agencies (agencies) in 2017 and 2018” while ordering “the continued re-evaluation of those remaining redactions.” Former President Joe Biden then allowed agencies to take additional time to review the files and withhold information from the public.
“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,” Trump’s order continues. “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.”
Per the order, the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General will have 15 days to “present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy” and 45 days to “review records related to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of these records.”
“}]]
