In a significant move towards transparency, the US government has released approximately 80,000 pages of previously classified records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This release comes after an executive order by President Donald J. Trump to ensure full disclosure of these documents, which have long been subject to heavy redactions and secrecy.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced the release on Tuesday, confirming that the records would now be available without redactions. Trump’s Executive Order 14176, issued with the aim of increasing transparency, directs the complete declassification of all remaining records associated with the 1963 assassination of JFK.
Trump previously emphasized that the continued withholding of information regarding JFK’s assassination was inconsistent with the public’s right to know, noting that “the release of these records is long overdue.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent out a directive instructing the Intelligence Community (IC) to release all unredacted records pertaining to the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for immediate public access.
The records are now available for public access online at archives.gov/jfk and in person at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Some documents are being digitized and will be uploaded to the website in the coming days, with updates posted on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Truth Social.
The release includes key documents, notably a June 1961 memo on the CIA, which had previously been heavily redacted. This document, sent to President Kennedy by aide Arthur Schlesinger Jr., offers sharp criticism of the CIA’s role in US foreign policy. Additionally, the release includes 14 documents related to the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., totaling 1,050 pages.
A Commitment to Transparency
This move aligns with an effort to restore public trust in the US Intelligence Community and federal agencies. The release follows decades of secrecy regarding the assassination, with Congress mandating in 1992 that all JFK assassination records be declassified by 2017. However, both Presidents Trump and Joe Biden had delayed full disclosure due to national security concerns.
The records also include previously withheld material that is subject to grand jury secrecy or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Department of Justice is working to expedite the unsealing of these records to ensure full transparency.
The National Archives is coordinating with federal agencies to ensure that the full declassification is carried out in compliance with legal procedures. The grand jury proceedings have already reviewed most of this information, and the unsealing process is expected to finalize soon.
This is the largest release of documents related to the JFK assassination to date, and it signals a step forward in the government’s commitment to providing maximum transparency to the American public.