24-1-2025 (WASHINGTON) U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order mandating the declassification of remaining documents related to three of America’s most notorious political assassinations.
The order, issued on Thursday, calls for the release of files pertaining to the murders of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
In the directive, Trump emphasised that withholding JFK assassination records from public scrutiny “is not consistent with the public interest”. He extended this reasoning to include documents concerning both RFK and MLK, despite no existing Congressional mandate for their release.
The executive order establishes a tight timeline, requiring the Director of National Intelligence and Attorney General to present a comprehensive plan within 15 days for the JFK files’ release. A longer window of 45 days has been granted for developing strategies to unveil documents related to the RFK and MLK assassinations.
This latest decree follows a complex history of document releases. While Congress mandated in 1992 that all JFK assassination records be made public by October 2017, both the Trump and Biden administrations have previously granted extensions for review and redaction processes.
The former Biden administration reports that 99% of JFK assassination records are already publicly accessible through the National Archives. However, speculation and conspiracy theories continue to surround the circumstances of Kennedy’s death in Dallas on 22 November 1963, particularly regarding alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
The inclusion of files related to RFK’s 1968 assassination during his presidential campaign carries particular contemporary relevance, as his son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is currently serving as Trump’s nominee for health secretary.
Dr King’s assassination, which occurred in the same tumultuous year as RFK’s death, remains a powerful symbol of the civil rights era’s violent struggles. The revered activist, remembered for his nonviolent approach to combating racial inequality, was struck down at the height of his influence on American society.
