The Trump administration has unveiled a significant collection of documents concerning the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This release comes after President Trump instructed government agencies to make these files public. The National Archives and Records Administration, which manages these records, has made the documents available, though not all are online yet.
Earlier this year, President Trump initiated a process to declassify and release remaining documents related to the assassinations of JFK, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. His directive required a plan for the complete release of JFK-related records. Recently, the FBI found approximately 2,400 documents related to JFK's assassination, following the executive order.
The newly released files, estimated to contain about 80,000 pages, are being reviewed by CBS News reporters for new insights. Many of these documents are expected to be unredacted versions of previously released files. Researchers have identified around 3,000 records that were not fully disclosed before, with 1,123 documents included in the latest online release.
Past investigations into JFK's assassination have involved classified information concerning intelligence methods and foreign governments, which were not directly related to the assassination. These documents remained classified to protect sources and methods.
David Barrett, a political science professor at Villanova University, is examining the documents and notes that while many may seem unrelated to the assassinations, the removal of redactions makes this release particularly valuable for scholars. He cites new details about CIA activities as examples of the insights gained.
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, is also reviewing the files, looking for previously redacted sensitive information, possibly related to Cuba or the CIA's actions concerning Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy's assassin.
The documents are accessible through a portal managed by the National Archives, though some are only available in person at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Efforts are underway to digitize these records for online access. Some documents remain sealed for legal reasons, and others require unsealing by the IRS before release.
The Mary Ferrell Foundation, which archives historical government records on the JFK assassination, notes that prior to this release, about 3,500 documents contained redactions, with most originating from the CIA. Over 500 records were entirely withheld from the public.
Trump's campaign included a promise to declassify JFK assassination records, partly due to his alliance with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who advocates for transparency regarding his uncle's and father's assassinations. A 1992 law mandated the release of all assassination-related records by October 2017, allowing the president to withhold them for national security reasons. During his first term, Trump released many documents, though some remained classified after lobbying by intelligence agencies. President Biden also released thousands of records but kept key parts redacted, frustrating researchers.
Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, at 46 years old. Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine and communist activist, was arrested for the murder but was killed two days later. The Warren Commission concluded Oswald acted alone, but this finding has faced criticism over the years.
Oswald, who had defected to the Soviet Union and returned to the U.S., was involved with pro-Castro groups and had contact with Soviet and Cuban consulates. The CIA intercepted a call he made to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City in 1963, but the details remain unclear. Some related documents were released in 2022.
JFK researchers hope the newly available documents will shed light on Oswald's activities in Mexico City and what federal agencies knew about him before the assassination. This story is ongoing and will be updated as more information becomes available.