Trump announces release of 80,000 pages of JFK assassination files, promising full disclosure

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the imminent release of approximately 80,000 pages of documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a case that has captivated the American public and fueled numerous conspiracy theories for over six decades. The files are expected to provide new insights into the circumstances surrounding JFK’s death on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.

Speaking at the Kennedy Center, Trump stated that the release would be comprehensive, emphasizing that there would be no redactions. “I don’t believe we are going to redact anything. I said, ‘just don’t redact, you can’t redact,’” Trump told reporters. When asked if he had personally reviewed the files, he acknowledged that he was aware of their contents and hinted at their significance, describing them as “very interesting.”

This disclosure follows an executive order signed by Trump in January, which called for the complete release of all remaining JFK assassination records, along with those pertaining to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Under the directive, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was tasked with formulating a plan for the full declassification of these historical records within 15 days.

Last month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that it had uncovered approximately 2,400 new files related to JFK’s assassination during its search to comply with the executive order. The latest document release is expected to add to the vast trove of files already disclosed over the years.

The assassination of the 35th U.S. president remains one of the most scrutinized events in American history. Public skepticism regarding the official narrative has persisted for decades, with numerous theories challenging the findings of the Warren Commission—the government body that concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the killing. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, 65% of Americans expressed doubt about the official version of events, with 20% believing that Oswald conspired with the U.S. government and 16% suspecting his involvement with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

During his first term, Trump had pledged to release all classified JFK records but ultimately withheld thousands of documents following requests from intelligence agencies such as the CIA and FBI, which argued that further review was necessary. While his administration did disclose approximately 2,800 documents, it left many files partially or fully classified. The Biden administration later declassified an additional 17,000 records, reducing the number of fully or partially withheld documents to fewer than 4,700.

The declassification process has been guided by the 1992 JFK Records Act, a law that mandated the release of all assassination-related files by October 26, 2017, unless the president determined that their disclosure would pose an identifiable threat to national security, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or foreign relations significant enough to outweigh the public interest.

The upcoming release of these records is expected to reignite debates over the true circumstances of JFK’s assassination. While some anticipate groundbreaking revelations, others caution that the new files may primarily serve to supplement existing historical records rather than provide definitive answers. Nonetheless, with decades of secrecy surrounding the case, many Americans remain eager to examine the documents and assess their implications for themselves.

As the world awaits the unsealing of these long-classified records, historians, researchers, and conspiracy theorists alike will be closely analyzing their contents for any new evidence that could shed light on one of the most enduring mysteries in U.S. history.