Justice
Trump Orders Release of All of the Assassination Files for JFK, RFK, and M.L. King.
It’s expected that the JFK files will be released in February and the RFK and King files will be released in April.
President Trump, consistent with his campaign promises, has ordered a final review prior to the release of all the federal government’s files on the investigations into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Rev. Martin Luther King.
As Mr. Trump signed the Executive Order in the Oval Office, he said “That’s a big one. A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.”
The JFK files will be released as early as next month. The RFK and King files will likely be released in April.
Both President Trump and former President Joe Biden previously released documents concerning President Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas. The National Archives has previously stated that about 99% of the relevant documents were released by 2023. But some documents were withheld, and substantial controversy and speculation has swirled about what that final 1% would reveal. The thinking was, if it weren’t truly significant, indeed shocking, it wouldn’t have been withheld.
In his Executive Order, President Trump states,
“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 date-line for the records to be made public is:
(a) Within 15 days of the date of the order: the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General shall, “present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.”
(b) Within 45 days of the date of the order: the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General shall, “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.”
Thereafter, consistent with this schedule, and upon Mr. Trump’s review of the files, he will release the documents whenever he is ready to do so, i.e., there is no scheduled date for the release, but it is to be presumed that it will be shortly after he receives the documents for his final review, so a release date in February for the JFK files is expected and in April for the RFK files and the King files is expected.
Read the Executive Order