JFK Files Released by Trump Administration: Read New Documents
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The Trump administration released the remaining files related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday.
The Context
President Donald Trump has long pledged to declassify the remaining JFK files, which refers to a trove of thousands of government documents related to Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
The files consist of investigative reports, memos, communications and other documents related to the government’s investigation into the president’s death.
“I’m going to release them immediately,” Trump said of the files in January after signing an executive order directing the government to release the remainder of the documents. “We’re going to see the information. We are looking at it right now.”
What To Know
Pursuant to Trump’s order, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) put out the rest of the files, which were posted to the National Archives and Record Administration’s (NARA) website Tuesday evening.
Read all the documents—which total 1,123 individual entries—here.
In this Friday, Nov. 22, 1963 file photo, seen through the foreground convertible’s windshield, President John F. Kennedy’s hand reaches toward his head within seconds of being fatally shot as first lady Jacqueline Kennedy holds… In this Friday, Nov. 22, 1963 file photo, seen through the foreground convertible’s windshield, President John F. Kennedy’s hand reaches toward his head within seconds of being fatally shot as first lady Jacqueline Kennedy holds his forearm as the motorcade proceeds along Elm Street past the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas. Gov. John Connally was also shot.
James W. “Ike” Altgens/AP
During his first presidential term, Trump authorized the release of tens of thousands of documents related to Kennedy’s assassination. But he kept some files classified after the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies said that releasing them could pose national security risks.
Thousands of documents related to Kennedy’s assassination were also made available to the public during President Joe Biden’s administration.
Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in July 2023 that 99 percent of records associated with Kennedy’s assassination were available for public consumption via NARA. Biden declassified more than 16,000 documents related to the assassination between 2021 and July 2023.
Kennedy’s assassination and the government’s conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing him became the source of several conspiracy theories. In response to public demands for more transparency surrounding his death, Congress passed the JFK Records Act of 1992, which mandated that all records related to the assassination be released by October 26, 2017, barring any national security risks.
Trump didn’t begin declassifying files related to the investigation until after October 2017, citing concerns about sources and methods being compromised.
What People Are Saying
The president said in his January executive order: “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.”
“And 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,” the order said.
Update 03/18/25 8:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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