More than six decades following the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, the U.S. government has begun to release a significant collection of documents shedding light on the event that shocked the nation and gave rise to numerous conspiracy theories. The National Archives and Records Administration recently started unveiling the highly anticipated files, shortly before 7 p.m., following President Donald Trump’s announcement that approximately 80,000 pages linked to the fateful shooting on November 22, 1963, were set to be disclosed.
“As per President Donald Trump’s directive of March 17, 2025, all previously classified records forming part of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection have been made public,” stated the administration. Within minutes, thousands of documents that had been kept hidden from the public for years began surfacing on the website.
It remains uncertain whether the released documents contain any groundbreaking revelations or evidence that contradicts the Warren Commission’s 1964 conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, fired the fatal shots from the Texas Schoolbook Depository. “You’ve got a lot of reading,” remarked Trump during a visit to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. He hinted at no redactions being planned but refrained from divulging the content of the files. Historians estimate that around 4,700 documents have yet to be disclosed.
The origins of the 80,000 pages of material are unknown, as noted by Jefferson Morley, an expert on the JFK assassination and the CIA, prior to the release of the latest documents. Justice Department attorneys worked tirelessly through the night to review hundreds of classified pages before their public unveiling.
There is anticipation surrounding whether the document release will finally alleviate public skepticism towards the government’s official account that Oswald acted alone. “People harbor many doubts,” said presidential historian Michael Beschloss. “Numerous conflicting theories exist. It’s difficult to envision a single piece of evidence that will unify everyone on what transpired. Nevertheless, most agree that the assassination of John Kennedy altered the course of history, mostly for the worse.”
During his campaign and in an effort to secure the support of JFK’s nephew, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump reiterated his commitment to releasing the files. In August, after securing RFK Jr.’s endorsement, Trump pledged to establish a commission to investigate assassination attempts in honor of RFK Jr., who now serves as his secretary of health and human services. At the start of his second term, Trump issued an executive order mandating the release of all records related to President Kennedy’s assassination, as well as those of RFK Sr. in 1968 and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
According to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, all documents connected to the assassination were scheduled for release by 2017, a target year during Trump’s initial presidency. Trump had previously released some JFK-related documents before this latest batch.
In the past, President Joe Biden had initially withheld certain documents but allowed more time for intelligence agencies to evaluate the remaining files. It was not until December 2022 that over 13,000 records were released following a lawsuit from the Mary Ferrell Foundation, the largest nonprofit repository of JFK assassination records in the nation. However, only about 98% of the documents pertaining to the assassination that were under the control of the National Archives were made public by Biden. There was a call for the government to adhere to both the spirit and the letter of the law regarding the release of these historical documents. The decision to hold back around 4,700 records raised concerns as they were believed to contain additional information about Lee Harvey Oswald’s time in Mexico City prior to the assassination. Some of these documents were linked to CIA agent George Joannides and a clandestine program connected to Cuba that intersected with Oswald shortly before Kennedy’s assassination, according to researchers at the Mary Ferrell Foundation. Biden justified the non-disclosure of certain documents by citing the need to protect military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, and foreign relations. However, this reasoning was met with skepticism from prominent historians, including U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, who previously chaired the Assassination Records Review Board. Tunheim expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of justification for withholding information even after almost six decades since Kennedy’s assassination.
