Trump Signs Order Declassifying JFK, MLK Files
Questions have persisted for decades about the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., with conspiracy theories and speculation fueling public interest. Now, the mysteries surrounding some of the most significant events in American history could soon be unraveled.
Despite previous document releases, many believe key details remain hidden within classified government archives. On Thursday, President Donald Trump took a decisive step in shedding light on these long-standing mysteries by signing an executive order to declassify the remaining government files related to the assassinations of Kennedy and King.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to declassify documents regarding the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., according to an aide who spoke to Reuters. The announcement, made at the White House, fulfills a promise Trump first made during his administration in 2017.
BREAKING: Trump just ordered the declassification of the JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. filespic.twitter.com/WeW8g6ftTf
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 23, 2025
“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 said last week.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) previously disclosed that approximately 97% of the roughly 5 million pages in its JFK assassination collection have already been made public. However, thousands of pages remained classified or heavily redacted, leaving historians and the public eager for full transparency.
In 2022, a limited release of additional documents provided some insight, but significant portions were still withheld due to national security concerns. Under the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, Congress mandated that all related documents be disclosed within 25 years, yet several administrations cited security and privacy reasons to delay full disclosure.
Trump’s latest executive order aims to remove those barriers once and for all. Many believe the files hold critical information about potential conspiracies surrounding Kennedy’s death, including possible involvement by foreign governments, intelligence agencies, or organized crime.
In the late 1950s, the FBI monitored King, ostensibly due to concerns over communist influences in the civil rights movement, though no substantial evidence was ever presented. Directed by J. Edgar Hoover, the surveillance included wiretapping King’s phones, bugging his hotel rooms, and infiltrating the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King led.
The FBI’s methods were invasive and aimed to discredit King, including efforts to undermine his marriage and an anonymous letter that suggested he commit suicide to avoid public scandal. These files, revealing the extent of the surveillance, gained significant public and scholarly debate over governmental overreach and the violation of civil liberties.
The files that remain unreleased are primarily sealed government documents, including extensive FBI surveillance records. In 1977, a U.S. district court ordered them sealed for 50 years, meaning they would not be released until 2027.
The decision to keep them sealed was based on concerns about privacy, national security, and the potential impact on King’s legacy and his surviving family members. Additionally, the files reportedly contain sensitive personal information, including allegations about King’s private life, which raises ethical questions about their release.
There are also concerns that the contents could be used to discredit King’s legacy and influence, which remains vital to civil rights movements today. Some civil rights organizations and King’s family members have opposed the release of the files, fearing they could be misinterpreted or misused.
