Historian calls Trump’s JFK document dump “impenetrable”
David J Garrow, a historian with an expertise in US intelligence agencies, told The New York Times that the trove of documents related to JFK that were released on Tuesday were “profoundly more impenetrable” than previous mass document releases.
This is, in part, because thousands of documents lack any kind of annotation; its unclear which agencies produced them and many lack identifying information like file numbers.
Graig Graziosi19 March 2025 00:52
Trump releases huge number of unseen documents on JFK assassination
Graeme Massie19 March 2025 00:16
How will I learn about newly released records?
Despite the president’s promise earlier today, further information about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy have not yet been released.
However, newly released records will be accessible on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection web page.
Mike Bedigan18 March 2025 22:30
In the JFK files, there’ll be no smoking gun – only bombshells
As America braces itself for thousands of declassified CIA documents, former intelligence officer John Kiriakou explains why there isn’t much light left to shed on the presidential assassination – but we should expect intriguing detail about the ‘second gunman’ theory in the killing of his brother, Robert.
In the JFK files, there’ll be no smoking gun – only bombshells
As America braces itself for thousands of declassified CIA documents, former intelligence officer John Kiriakou explains why there isn’t much light left to shed on the presidential assassination – but we should expect intriguing detail about the ‘second gunman’ theory in the killing of his brother, Robert
Mike Bedigan18 March 2025 22:01
Why aren’t all of the JFK assassination records online?
If you’re wondering why not all of the the JFK Assassination records are not yet available online – it’s a question of priority.
The records collection consists of millions of pages, photographs, electronic items, and artifacts, most of which are available for public access at the National Archives at College Park, in Maryland.
The National Archives is currently prioritizing the digitization of these records to make them more widely accessible online,” according to the institution.
Since January 2024, over 700,000 pages have been digitized and made available through the National Archives Catalog.
Mike Bedigan18 March 2025 21:30
Where can the public see the JFK files when they are released?
Once the files are declassified and the White House gives the National Archives the OK to release them, they can be viewed on this webpage.
Ariana Baio18 March 2025 21:00
What have the released Kennedy files said so far?
Most of the government’s records on the inquiry into Kennedy’s assassination have been released to the public and the information supports the conclusion that 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating Kennedy.
The documents released over the years have provided more details about Oswald and pointed to his possible motivations in carrying out the shooting. However, the information has never supported a conspiracy theory – though that has not stopped people from suggesting alternative scenarios.
Ariana Baio18 March 2025 20:30
Inside the committee that will look at the nation’s biggest secrets
A Republican-led task force in the House intends to investigate and release formerly classified information related to several major events that have spurred conspiracy theories that have lingered across the U.S. such as the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy Jr., the September 11 terrorist attacks and the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.
Ariana Baio18 March 2025 20:00
Some records may be ‘embarrassing’ for CIA, expert said
While the unreleased Kennedy assassination records may fuel conspiracy theories of a government coverup or something even more sinister, one expert believes that information in the withheld documents could be “embarrassing” to the CIA who “dropped the ball” on preventing the former president from being assassinated.
Steve Gillon, a senior faculty fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, told UVA Today in 2023 that he believes the remaining classified documents will show that the CIA failed to prevent Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating Kennedy.
“I think that they had warnings that Oswald had threatened to assassinate the president; perhaps even possessed recordings of Oswald making these threats in front of KGB agents when he was in Mexico City,” Gillon said at the time.
“But that information was never effectively relayed back to the FBI, so they’re very casual in their efforts to contact Oswald when he returned to Dallas. I think there was a breakdown in the communication between the CIA and the FBI, and as a result Oswald slipped through the fingers of American intelligence.”
Gillon hypothesized that some materials may remain classified because they contain information about the methods the U.S. used to obtain intelligence – which may be methods they still use today.
Ariana Baio18 March 2025 19:30
Voices: In the JFK files, there’ll be no smoking gun – only bombshells
As America braces itself for thousands of declassified CIA documents, former intelligence officer John Kiriakou explains why there isn’t much light left to shed on the presidential assassination – but we should expect intriguing detail about the ‘second gunman’ theory in the killing of his brother, Robert.
In the JFK files, there’ll be no smoking gun – only bombshells
As America braces itself for thousands of declassified CIA documents, former intelligence officer John Kiriakou explains why there isn’t much light left to shed on the presidential assassination – but we should expect intriguing detail about the ‘second gunman’ theory in the killing of his brother, Robert
John Kiriakou18 March 2025 19:00
