Washington: The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has uncovered thousands of previously unrecognized documents related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. This discovery follows President Donald Trump’s directive to release classified intelligence and law enforcement records concerning the 1963 shooting.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FBI confirmed that a new records search was conducted after Trump signed an executive order in January, during his first week back in office. The search led to the identification and digitization of approximately 2,400 newly inventoried records connected to the Kennedy assassination case.
“The FBI has made the appropriate notifications of the newly discovered documents and is working to transfer them to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in the ongoing declassification process,” the agency stated.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also confirmed it had sent recommendations to Trump regarding the release of classified JFK assassination documents. However, no details were provided on the timing or scope of the public release.
Decades-Old Mystery Fuels Public Fascination
Nearly six decades after Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas, public intrigue persists. The official conclusion—attributing the killing to a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald—has been reaffirmed by the Justice Department and other federal agencies over the years. However, polls indicate that many Americans suspect a broader conspiracy.
Trump, who had pledged during his campaign to release long-classified assassination records, also ordered the disclosure of documents related to the 1968 assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy. However, his administration has allowed additional time to devise a plan for those releases.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department and a nephew of John F. Kennedy, has publicly stated his belief that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in his uncle’s assassination—a claim the agency has dismissed as unfounded. He has also challenged the official narrative of his father’s killing, suggesting multiple gunmen were involved.
Historians Skeptical About Major Revelations
While the newly discovered files could provide further insight into the assassination, historians caution against expecting major revelations that would alter the established understanding of events.
“I suspect that we won’t get anything too dramatic in the releases, or anything that fundamentally overturns our understanding of what occurred in Dallas,” said Fredrik Logevall, a Harvard history professor. “But I’m prepared to be surprised.”
One key issue the documents may clarify is whether the CIA had more information about Oswald than previously disclosed. Gerald Posner, author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, argues that while the CIA’s involvement remains unlikely, its potential negligence in failing to share intelligence with the FBI could be significant.
“The question for me is not whether the CIA was complicit, but whether the CIA was negligent,” Posner noted.
A particularly intriguing detail concerns Oswald’s trip to Mexico City six weeks before the assassination, during which he visited the Soviet embassy. Posner suggests any new records about that visit could shed light on the CIA’s knowledge of his movements.
Barbara Perry, co-director of the presidential oral history program at the Miller Center, posits that while the CIA may have been monitoring Oswald, this does not necessarily indicate a conspiracy.
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“Certainly, the FBI was, but they didn’t connect the dots,” Perry said. “But it wasn’t a conspiracy on the part of the CIA or the FBI or any outside country.”
Despite the anticipated release, some scholars believe that the disclosure will do little to sway those who already suspect foul play.
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“I can’t imagine any document that would convince (conspiracy theorists) that Oswald acted alone,” said Alice L. George, author of The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Political Trauma and American Memory. “Particularly among people who are really invested in that way of thinking. It’s going to probably leave them in the same place where they are now.”
As the declassification process continues, the newly uncovered files may provide additional context to one of the most scrutinized moments in American history. However, whether they will put an end to speculation remains an open question.
