President Trump mandated the declassification of secret files on JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s killings.
Executive Order Demands Transparency
Trump, 78, signed the executive order in the Oval Office, promising, “Everything will be revealed.” The order requires the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to prepare for rapid disclosure. Officials have 15 days to outline plans for releasing JFK files and 45 days for RFK and MLK documents.
The order states, “The release of these records is long overdue.” Trump’s decision addresses decades of speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding the murders of these prominent figures.
JFK Assassination and Conspiracy Theories
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963 in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald, the prime suspect, was murdered two days later by Jack Ruby, fueling conspiracy theories.
Oswald, a Marine veteran who defected to the Soviet Union in 1959, returned to the U.S. in 1962. Weeks before the assassination, Oswald visited the Cuban consulate and Soviet embassy in Mexico City, ostensibly seeking travel visas.
A CIA document released under Trump’s 2017 order suggested Oswald might have been planning an escape after the assassination. Ruby’s known ties to organized crime also perpetuate suspicions of broader conspiracies.
RFK and MLK Assassinations: Political and Racial Dimensions
Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968 by Sirhan Sirhan after winning California’s Democratic primary. Sirhan’s attorney once argued he was framed. Trump nominated RFK’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for secretary of Health and Human Services and gave him the pen used to sign the executive order.
RFK Jr. has claimed the CIA played a role in the murders of his father and uncle and supported parole for Sirhan, opposing his siblings’ stance.
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in April 1968 by James Earl Ray. The FBI had targeted King with efforts to undermine his work, including an infamous 1964 letter encouraging his suicide.
FBI documents revealed concerns about communists in King’s circle, alleging some associates were linked to the Communist Party. A 1968 bureau report criticized King’s private behavior while attacking his public moral leadership.
Controversies Surrounding FBI Actions
FBI analyses linked King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference to alleged communist goals. Reports highlighted internal criticisms of King’s personal conduct during events and conferences.
These revelations and Trump’s order to release the files are expected to shed light on these historic events and the controversies surrounding them.
