President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday afternoon to declassify files on the 1960s assassinations of former president John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., making good on his promise to release the files “immediately.”
The killings of all three leaders, particularly John F. Kennedy, have sparked conspiracy theories as to who was really responsible for the deaths. With the new order, Trump thinks it is time for the public to know the full truth.
“Everything will be revealed,” Trump told reporters while he signed the order in the White House. Notably, the president instructed his aide to give the pen he used to sign the order to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son and nephew of both slain Kennedys and Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
The executive order assigns the director of national intelligence and the attorney general to formulate a plan within 15 days for the full release of the JFK files. For the release of the RFK and MLK files, the intelligence chief will have 45 days to come up with a plan.
Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is scheduled to attend her Senate confirmation hearing on January 30.
Given her support for intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden and past rhetoric on the Russia-Ukraine war that is similar to Vladimir Putin’s own views, Gabbard may have a difficult time getting confirmed. But if she is, one of the former Democrat’s first tasks will be to immediately plan the release of the classified files.
Pam Bondi, who attended her Senate confirmation hearing last week, is waiting to be confirmed as the attorney general.
“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 executive 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.”
Trump previously vowed to release the remaining government records on the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and King and then reiterated that promise during his pre-inauguration speech on Sunday and again on Wednesday evening.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump teased he would “release them immediately” and revealed his administration was “looking at it right now.”
During his first term, Trump said he would release the assassination files on all three 1960s leaders but became convinced by the CIA and FBI that the documents should remain classified due to national security concerns. Trump said former CIA director Mike Pompeo, who later became his secretary of state, personally asked him not to release them during his first term.
“He felt that it was not a good time to release them,” Trump said.
“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 reads, noting the release of the files regarding the two other assassinations is “also in the public interest.”