- By Imran Zafar
- Mon, 20 Jan 2025 11:05 AM (IST)
- Source:Reuters
US President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to release classified documents related to the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr in the coming days. The statement was made during a rally in Washington on Sunday, a day before Donald Trump’s second, non-consecutive term begins.
Trump had previously promised to release similar files during his first term from 2017 to 2021. While some documents related to JFK’s 1963 assassination were declassified then, Trump ultimately withheld others, citing national security concerns after facing pressure from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
"In the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records related to the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr Martin Luther King Jr and other topics of great public interest," Trump stated. However, he did not provide specifics on which documents would be declassified or guarantee full disclosure.
The JFK assassination remains a topic of intrigue in the United States. Official accounts attribute the killing to a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, and this conclusion has been reaffirmed by federal investigations. Yet, public scepticism persists, with many US citizens suspecting a broader conspiracy.
The release of these documents could reignite debates around the events of 1963 and 1968, which saw the deaths of JFK, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the son of Robert Kennedy and Trump’s health and human services secretary-designate, has previously alleged CIA involvement in JFK’s death, however, these are the claims the central agency denies. Kennedy Jr has also questioned the official account of his father’s assassination, suggesting multiple gunmen were involved.
(With Reuters Inputs)
