In a significant move, former President Donald Trump has authorized the release of 80,000 sealed documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, nearly 60 years after the tragic event. This release comes as part of Trump’s executive order signed in January, which aims to make public all records connected to the JFK assassination, as well as the 饾搥饾捑饾搧饾搧ings of his brother, Robert Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The decision to unseal these documents stems from Trump’s assertion that the continued withholding of information is not in the public interest. “The release of these records is long overdue,” he stated in his order, emphasizing the need for transparency regarding one of the most investigated events in American history.
The newly available documents, totaling 880,000 pages, can be accessed in digitized format on the National Archives website, as well as through analog media at the National Archives and Records Administration offices located in Maryland. This release is part of a broader effort to make historical records accessible to the public, a process that began in 1992 when Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act. The National Archives has been gradually unsealing documents since then, with the most recent batch being released in 2023 under President Joe Biden’s direction.
While this release marks a notable moment in the ongoing quest for transparency regarding the circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination, it is not the first time classified records have been made public. The public’s interest in these records remains high, as many seek to understand the complexities of events that shaped American history. As the documents become available, researchers and enthusiasts alike eagerly anticipate the insights they may provide into this pivotal moment in U.S. history.