WASHINGTON, January 24: U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the declassification of records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The President stated that it is time for the American public to know the “truth” after decades of secrecy surrounding these historical events.
The White House shared the executive order, emphasizing that it aims to provide Americans with the truth after over six decades of classified information. “The Executive Order establishes the policy that, more than 50 years after these assassinations, the victims’ families and the American people deserve the truth,” the statement read.
The order mandates that top administration officials present a plan to declassify the documents within 15 days. Specifically, it directs the Director of National Intelligence and other relevant officials to ensure the full and complete release of all records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which took place in Dallas in 1963. For the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed while running for president in 1968, and Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, the order requires a review of the records and a plan for their declassification within 45 days.
In a statement, the White House recalled that the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 mandated the release of all records related to the assassination after 25 years, unless a president certifies that continuing postponement is necessary due to national security concerns. Trump had previously ordered agencies to release more information during his first term, with further disclosures occurring in 2017 and 2018. However, President Biden delayed further declassification in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Trump expressed his belief that the continued withholding of JFK records is “not in the public interest and is long overdue,” asserting that the release of the assassination records of both Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. is also “in the public interest.”
This move follows a longstanding campaign promise made by Trump to release these files. In June 2024, he reaffirmed his commitment, saying, “When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!”
