Trump Orders ‘Full and Complete’ Release of JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Files
President Trump says ‘everything will be revealed.’
President Trump is following through on his pledge of a “full” release of documents related to the assassinations of President Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing the release of the documents.
“That’s a big one, huh?” the president said. “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years — for decades. And everything will be revealed.”
The text of Mr. Trump’s executive order states, “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,” it adds.
The order also notes that while Congress passed a law requiring the release of information related to the assassination of President Kennedy, it did not require documents related to King’s or Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. However, the order says, “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.”
Under Mr. Trump’s order, the director of national intelligence and the attorney general shall develop a plan within 15 days for the “full and complete release” of the records related to President Kennedy’s assassination. Within 45 days of the order, the officials are ordered to develop a plan for the release of documents related to the murders of King and Robert F. Kennedy.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump promised he would order the release of documents related to the assassination of the three men. During his first term, he promised to release documents related to the 35th president’s assassination but did not ultimately commit to a full release of the documents after receiving pressure from the CIA and the FBI.
