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The CIA released a new batch of declassified documents Thursday related to the government’s investigation into the assassination of Robert F, Kennedy in 1968, which includes a copy of a note that Kennedy’s killer, Sirhan Sirhan, wrote.
Per President Donald Trump’s executive order directing agencies to declassify materials in cases of public interest, including RFK and his brother John F. Kennedy’s assassinations, the CIA released 54 declassified documents, amounting to 1,400 pages.
“The records reveal for the first time that Senator Kennedy shared his experiences traveling to the former Soviet Union with CIA, reflecting his patriotic commitment to serving his country,” the CIA said in a statement.
Much of the information in the release is not considered particularly revealing, but it does include an incriminating note that Sirhan wrote on May 18, 1968 – less than one month before Sirhan would fatally shoot Kennedy.
“R.F.K. must die, RFK must be killed, Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated,” Sirhan wrote down over and over again on a piece of notebook paper used during his murder trial.
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The note appears to have been obtained by the Associated Press and reprinted by the Washington Post, though it is unclear what year that was.
Kennedy, the brother of former president JFK, was killed while serving as the Democratic senator of New York and campaigning for president. He was departing the ballroom inside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, when 24-year-old Sirhan shot him multiple times.
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Sirhan admitted to killing Kennedy and said he was motivated by the senator’s support of Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. However, he has also made conflicting statements over the years about the shooting – which has fueled conspiracy theories about the assassination.
Ultimately, Sirhan was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, although that was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Sirhan, now 81, has unsuccessfully sought parole at least 17 times over the past 56 years, the most recent being in August 2024.
But the handwritten note has been a point of contention over the years as Sirhan’s lawyer, Lawrence Teester, has argued his client was hypnotized and framed – pointing to the note as an example of his client’s state of mind.
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“Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” Secretary of Health and Human Services and son of Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said.
“I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency. I’m grateful also to Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe for their dogged efforts to root out and declassify these documents,” RFK Jr. added.
Other documents included in Thursday’s drop include Sirhan’s psychological profile, though heavily redacted.
The file of Kennedy’s travels with the CIA, referenced by the agency in its statement, appears to be a 148-page document compiling reports. In them, Kennedy describes his experience in Iran, the former USSR, and more.
