Trump pledges to release files on JFK, MLK and RFK assassinations
President-elect Trump vowed Sunday that he would release long-classified government records on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.
Trump made the pledge to a crowd during his Victory Rally at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, which has a 20,000-seat capacity, telling supporters it is the beginning of an effort to increase government transparency.
“As the first step toward restoring transparency and accountability to government, we will also reverse the over-classification of government documents,” Trump said.
“And in the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he continued. “It’s all going to be released.”
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
During his first administration, Trump had promised to release all the files related to John F. Kennedy, but an undisclosed amount of material remains under wraps more than six decades after Kennedy was killed Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
After appeals from the CIA and FBI, Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records. Trump said at the time the potential harm to U.S. national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs is “of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure.”
President John F. Kennedy was killed Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. (Getty, File)
In December 2022, President Biden released a trove of documents relating to the assassination, though Biden, like Trump had previously, said that some documents were withheld over national security concerns.
Trump’s promise to also release outstanding documents related to civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, brother of former President John F. Kennedy, leaves questions as to how the president-elect will speed up the releases.
Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. (Getty Images, File)
King and Robert F. Kennedy were both assassinated in 1968.
Robert F. Kennedy was killed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. (AP Photo, File)
Under the Martin Luther King Jr. Records Collection Act, the remaining files pertaining to King are not due for release until 2027.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
