Donald Trump orders release of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr assassination files

President Donald Trump displays one of the signed executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 23, 2025. [AFP] President Donald Trump has signed executive orders declassifying the assassination records of former President John F Kennedy. The order signed on Thursday further allows the declassification and release of all remaining files related to the assassination of former Senator Robert F Kennedy and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. According to the White House, the order that could bring an end six-decade conspiracy theory calls on the Director of National Intelligence to present a plan within 15 days for the "full and complete release" of files related to JFK's assassination and a plan within 45 days for the release of documents on the other two assassinations. "The Executive Order establishes the policy that, more than 50 years after these assassinations, the victims' families and the American people deserve the truth. Specifically, the Order directs the Director of National Intelligence and other appropriate officials to present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F. Kennedy assassination records and immediately review the records relating to the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days," read part of a statement by the White House. The White House said President Trump had in his first term ordered agencies to move toward disclosing more information about the John Kennedy assassination and the order will ensure the work is completed. According to the White House, the President John F Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 required all records related to the assassination be released in 25 years, absent a presidential certification that: "Continued postponement is necessary due to identifiable harm to the military defence, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and such identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure". In October 2017 and April 2018 certifications, President Trump directed agencies to reevaluate redactions and disclose any information that no longer warranted withholding. However, former President Joe Biden delayed disclosure in 2021, 2022, and 2023. "In this Order, President Trump finds that continued withholding of the John F. Kennedy records is not in the public interest and is long overdue. He also concludes that releasing the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination records is in the public interest," the White House said. Trump had in his campaigns promised to release the assassination records to give Americans the truth. "When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It's been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!," he said at that time. The circumstances of JFK's assassination in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, have transfixed Americans for decades, with surveys showing widespread doubt about official explanations of the killing. An article by Aljazeera indicates that in a 2023 Gallup poll, 65 per cent of Americans said they did not believe the Warren Commission's finding that Lee Harvey Oswald, a US Marine veteran arrested over JFK's death, acted alone in killing the president. Another 20 per cent of respondents said they believed Oswald conspired with the US government, while 16 per cent said they believed that he worked with the CIA. Aljazeera further reports that Robert F Kennedy Jr, Trump's nominee for health secretary and the son of Robert F Kennedy claimed in a 2023 interview that there was "overwhelming" evidence of CIA involvement in his uncle's killing and "very convincing" but "circumstantial" evidence that the intelligence agency was involved in his father's death.

Donald Trump orders release of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr assassination files

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