Written by Josh Brown Edited by Rebecca Oxtot and Annika Lilja
On January 23, 2025, President Donald Trump officially signed an executive order that will declassify any remaining investigative documents that pertain to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. But what exactly does this mean, and what does it release for the public to view?
According to Trump’s executive order, the documents will be released in stages, with JFK’s having been released on February 26 and RFK and MLK Jr.'s set to be released on March 17. Furthermore, the classified material this order releases includes 4,700 JFK assassination documents. While this number seems to be a significant amount of documents, it is the remaining 1% of documents yet to be released. However, Trump claims to want a “full and complete release” and that the American public “deserves transparency and truth” (Al Jazeera). Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) echoes this claim by saying that “[They] remain committed to delivering the transparency that Americans demand from their government” (US Oversight Committee). She continues in comments on the executive order to reiterate that the government’s goal is to be honest and trustworthy.
This goal of transparency and truth has been a long-running interest of the government, and rightfully so, as these assassinations have been a major source of distrust in the United States. When asked about the JFK documents being considered classified information, Victoria Pagán, a professor at the University of Florida, explained the psychology behind the growth in distrust over government investigations. It is due to a lack of critical information, and thus, as people who require transparency, we begin to make conclusions ourselves. These alleged conclusions can result in far-off beliefs, and they muddle the reliability of government organizations. She further explains that the failure of the Warren Commission (the commission in charge of investigating the assassination of JFK) led to a culture of distrust that still affects Americans now (University of Florida).
As stated before, this lack of information leads to personal conclusions, which are mostly conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories maintain a powerful grasp on culture mostly due to their residual effects. Professor Pagán states, “It’s always much easier to allege than refute, and once alleged [it is] almost impossible to erase” (University of Florida). It is clear that the failed investigations of JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. have spawned many wild and outlandish theories. Ideas which may not traditionally seem rational, yet in light of the limited information are the only answers to the questions left from a lack of truth. Furthermore, JFK’s death was not the only one shrouded with doubt. MLK Jr.’s death was also poorly investigated, mostly due to the strong racial bias of the US in the 1960s. In fact, a 1993 court case in Memphis, TN ruled that some government agencies were co-conspirators in the assassination. After the case, Dexter King, MLK Jr.’s son, was asked whether he believes James Earl Ray, the original convicted assassin, was the sole conspirator of his father’s assassination. He responded very firmly, “No, I don’t, and this is the end of it” (Al Jazeera). It becomes evident that even those closest to the victims are doubtful of the government’s reliability. Thus, the cycle of distrust in the US was exacerbated, and rumors against the system became common.
However, it can be found that the government has already made some attempts in the past to be more transparent on the assassination details. For example, in 1992, Congress passed a law to release all the files related to JFK’s death within 25 years, and this has been relatively followed with 320,000 documents being released, about 99% of the information. Moreover, in Trump’s first term, he signed an executive order to release 2,800 more documents.
The question then becomes, what is the point of Trump’s executive order? This is displayed through the wording of the order where Trump states the information must be released “immediately” and sets a specific timeline (Politico). Therefore, the goal is to usher along the current agenda of Congress to finish declassification faster, as it has already passed its initial 25-year deadline. Some doubt the effectiveness of the order as it never directly states a hurried effort is necessary and only recommends it (Politico). Lastly, the family members of those assassinated, specifically the Kennedys, have a vast amount of letters and recordings that involve JFK and RFK’s death. Trump’s order has no power to release these, which means certain details will remain hidden despite any laws’ best intentions.
Whether the truths behind these assassinations are ever fully revealed and all the files are released or not, the executive orders by President Trump, previous laws passed by Congress, and local court cases on wrongful death help to shed light on any possible details. Despite these shortcomings or successes, JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. were great leaders of our nation, and their deaths have not and will not silence their voices. They helped to remind the American people of who we are and how we can grow our nation to make a better tomorrow. So perhaps these last remaining documents will help to give the families and friends closure or show a failure within our government. These three will be immortalized, no matter what, as those who built our country and should be honored for it.
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