• President Donald Trump’s executive order mandates the declassification of all remaining JFK assassination files, aiming for full transparency and truth.
• The push for transparency began in 1992 with the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, but many documents remained redacted due to national security concerns.
• The remaining classified documents are believed to contain details about the CIA’s activities in the early 1960s, including Lee Harvey Oswald’s movements and connections, and Kennedy’s relationship with the CIA.
• Numerous conspiracy theories persist about the assassination, including CIA revenge, Soviet involvement, Cuban retaliation, the Mafia’s vendetta and the Ku Klux Klan’s backlash.
• Experts caution against expecting a definitive answer from the released files, but anticipate they will provide a richer and more detailed story of the assassination, potentially reigniting debates and raising new questions.

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, remains one of the most enduring mysteries in American history. Decades after the tragic event, the question of who killed JFK—and why—continues to captivate the public imagination. Now, with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating the declassification of all remaining JFK assassination files, the nation is poised to revisit one of its darkest chapters.

The release of these documents, long shrouded in secrecy, could finally shed light on the conspiracy theories that have swirled around Kennedy’s death for over six decades.

The long road to transparency

The push for transparency began in 1992, when Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, mandating the release of all documents related to the assassination within 25 years. By 2017, 99% of the 320,000 records had been declassified, but thousands remained partially or fully redacted. Intelligence agencies argued that releasing these documents could compromise national security or reveal sensitive sources and methods.

President Trump’s recent executive order, however, has reignited hope for full disclosure. “More than 50 years after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Federal Government has not released to the public all of its records related to those events,” Trump stated. “Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth.”

The order directs the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to present a plan for the “full and complete” release of the records within 15 days. But as Larry Schnapf, a New York-based attorney who has sued the government to compel the release of JFK files, told ABC News, “If the government opts for a ‘substantive’ review, going document-by-document, it’s going to be a while.”

What’s in the files?

The remaining classified documents are believed to contain tantalizing details about the CIA’s activities in the early 1960s, particularly in relation to Lee Harvey Oswald’s movements and connections. One document of particular interest is a June 1961 memorandum by White House adviser Arthur Schlesinger, outlining JFK’s desire to “splinter the Agency [CIA] into a thousand pieces and scattering it to the winds.” This memo, partially redacted, hints at Kennedy’s strained relationship with the CIA following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

Another key record is the transcript of CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton’s testimony to the Church Committee in 1976. Angleton, who ran the CIA’s Israel desk, is suspected by some scholars of lying to Congress about Israel’s nuclear program in the 1960s. While Israel has neither confirmed nor denied these claims, the possibility of a connection between Angleton’s testimony and JFK’s assassination has fueled speculation.

Other documents reportedly detail CIA surveillance activities in Mexico, where Oswald visited in the months leading up to the assassination, as well as the agency’s interactions with Cuban exiles in Miami. These records could provide critical context about Oswald’s alleged ties to foreign governments and intelligence agencies.

Conspiracy Theories: Fact or Fiction?

The JFK assassination has spawned countless conspiracy theories, many of which persist to this day. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 65% of Americans doubt the “lone gunman” theory and believe others were involved. Here are five of the most prominent theories:

1. The CIA’s revenge. Kennedy’s relationship with the CIA was fraught, particularly after the Bay of Pigs disaster. Some theorists believe the agency orchestrated his assassination as retribution for his attempts to dismantle its power.
2. Soviet involvement. Oswald’s ties to the Soviet Union—he defected there in 1959 before returning to the U.S.—have led some to speculate that the Kremlin played a role in the assassination.
3. Cuban retaliation. Fidel Castro, who survived multiple CIA-backed assassination attempts, is another suspect. Some believe Cuba may have orchestrated Kennedy’s murder as payback for the Bay of Pigs.
4. The Mafia’s vendetta. Kennedy’s administration, led by his brother Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General, cracked down on organized crime. Mobsters like Carlos Marcello reportedly threatened retaliation.
5. The KKK’s backlash. JFK’s support for civil rights made him a target for white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, though this theory has lost traction in recent years.

What to expect from the release

While the declassification of the JFK files is a significant step toward transparency, experts caution against expecting a “smoking gun.” “There will be some puzzle pieces that will be put back in that will tell a more robust and rich story,” said Tom Samoluk of the JFK Library Foundation.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JFK’s nephew, has praised the move as a blow against the “60-year strategy of lies and secrecy, disinformation, censorship and defamation” employed by intelligence agencies. He believes the files will reveal “overwhelming evidence” tying the CIA to the assassinations of both his uncle and his father.

As the nation awaits the release of these long-hidden records, one thing is clear: the JFK assassination remains a defining moment in American history. Whether the declassified files bring closure or more questions, they will undoubtedly reignite the debate over what really happened on that fateful day in Dallas.

“This story is not over,” said Jefferson Morley, a JFK assassination expert and former Washington Post journalist. And with the release of these files, it may only be just beginning.

Sources include:

RT.com

Newsweek.com

BBC.com