US President Donald Trump has once again promised to release previously unknown government documents, including those related to the assassinations of the 35th US President John F. Kennedy, his younger brother and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
At a rally and victory celebration in the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, Trump told a crowd of around 20,000 supporters that his administration would “declassify government documents, including those related to historical crimes.” He claimed that this move would be “a first step towards restoring transparency and accountability.” Trump added, “Everything will be released, Uncle Sam.”
The assassinations of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, his brother and political ally Robert in 1968, and Martin Luther King Jr., a pioneering leader of the civil rights movement (“I Have a Dream” a speech from August 1963), have long been the subject of speculations about possible involvement of the US government and/or US intelligence agencies.
Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Senator Robert Kennedy, to be the US Secretary of Health in his administration. RFK Jr. has long advocated for the full release of government records related to the tragedies involving his closest relatives. He has hinted that the CIA might have been actively involved in the death of his uncle.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds a single collection of over 5 million documents related to the assassination of President Kennedy. In the 1990s, the government ordered the almost complete declassification of the documents, except for those that the President might deem exempt. This was regulated by the “John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.”
During Trump’s first term and the single term of Joe Biden, the declassification process continued, but an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 documents remain unreleased.
During his first term, Trump promised to release documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but he ultimately kept most of them back, citing national security concerns and eventually giving in to the pressure of the CIA and FBI.
In his latest announcement, Trump did not specify which documents he plans to release, nor did he commit to a general expanded release for the public.
Trump’s inauguration and oath-taking on January 20 coincides with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday honoring King’s contributions to the civil rights movement in the 1960s, celebrated on the third Monday of January every year.
In his speech on Sunday in the Capital One Arena, the incoming 47th President of the United States announced that he would sign a series of executive orders on a broad range of policy issues immediately after taking office.