Trump orders full release of JFK, RFK, and MLK assassination records

President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order mandating the release of all records related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

The order, signed on Thursday, directs the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to present a plan for the full and complete release of records related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination within 15 days, and within 45 days for the records of Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“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,” the order states. “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.”

The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 required all records related to President Kennedy’s assassination to be publicly disclosed in full by October 26, 2017, during Trump’s first presidential term.

According to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), about 99% of records related to the JFK assassination have already been disclosed during Trump and Biden’s presidencies. However, as of 2023, 4,684 documents remained “fully or partially withheld” from the public, according to The New York Times.

“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,” the order states.

Trump added, “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.”

“A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump said while signing the order. “And everything will be revealed.”