Donald Trump released a trove of documents related to the assassination of JFK – but one historian described these as “profoundly more impenetrable” than previous mass document releases
Donald Trump is yet to state whether the release of thousands of files relating to the assassination of John F Kennedy has changed his mind on its explanation.
The US President released the material on Tuesday, part of his effort to make cases of public interest more accessible. With a swagger, the world leader told reporters: “We have a tremendous amount of paper. You’ve got a lot of reading.”
Yet he was not drawn on his opinion of the case, which saw Mr Kennedy, 46, killed on November 22, 1963, on a visit to Dallas. Police arrested 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald, who had positioned himself from a sniper’s perch. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer.
Speaking in a previous interview in 2021 when he alluded to the release of the material, Mr Trump seemed content accepting the general consensus JFK was killed by Oswald. Mr Trump, 78, has not given any indication the contents of the records released on Tuesday have shifted his perspective.
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In the old interview with the New York Times, Mr Trump said: “When you have something that’s so sacredly secret, it really makes it sound very bad. I think they maybe got it right, probably got it right. Let people examine it.”
He discussed with reporters the idea of making the files public, describing the move as the “appropriate” thing to do. The world leader has been true to his word, releasing the material weeks after making the order upon his return to power.
But experts say citizens should not expect anything earth-shattering among the 80,000 files released so far – and so may already be accessible to the public through the existing log at the US National Archives and Records Administration.
David J Garrow, a historian with an expertise in US intelligence agencies, told The New York Times the trove of documents related to JFK that were released on Tuesday were “profoundly more impenetrable” than previous mass document releases.
He said 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.
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The National Archives said in a statement on Tuesday: “In accordance with President Donald Trump’s directive of March 17, 2025, all records previously withheld for classification that are part of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection are released. The National Archives has partnered with agencies across the federal government to comply with the President’s directive in support of Executive Order 14176.
“As of March 18, 2025, the records are available to access either online at this page or in person, via hard copy or on analog media formats, at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.” The archives added that more records would be released in the future as they “continue to be digitised”.
