Trump Orders Plan to Declassify JFK, RFK, and MLK Assassination Files

President Donald Trump has directed officials to devise a plan to declassify documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., signaling a significant step toward unveiling long-concealed historical records.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated, “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.” The executive order gives administration officials 15 days to present a plan for declassifying the documents, although full disclosure is not guaranteed.

The Assassinations That Shaped America

• John F. Kennedy: The 35th president was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marine veteran with ties to the Soviet Union. While the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone, lingering questions and alternative theories have persisted for decades.
• Robert F. Kennedy: JFK’s younger brother was killed in Los Angeles in 1968 during his presidential campaign.
• Martin Luther King Jr.: The civil rights leader was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, just two months before RFK’s death in 1968.

While many assassination-related documents have been released over the years, thousands remain partially or fully redacted, especially those tied to the JFK investigation. In 1992, Congress mandated that all JFK-related documents be made public within 25 years. However, both Trump during his first term and President Joe Biden approved delays, citing national security concerns raised by intelligence agencies.

Trump’s new executive order asserts that continued secrecy is “not consistent with the public interest.”

Jefferson Morley, a journalist and expert on the JFK assassination, praised the move but emphasized the importance of execution. “The statement of intention is great. But the details and implementation are everything,” he said, adding that the process remains unclear.

Public interest in the files remains high. Polls over the decades consistently show that most Americans doubt the official conclusion that Oswald acted alone.