Donald Trump during his pre-inauguration MAGA rally announced that he would release classified documents in the next few days regarding the assassinations of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. King and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated in 1968.
A day before his official inauguration as 47th President of the United States of America, Trump promised on the campaign trail to release classified intelligence and law enforcement files on the 1963 assassination of JFK, as America's 35th president is widely known.
While speaking at a rally in downtown Washington, Trump said, “In the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other topics of great public interest.” During the rally, Trump did not specify as to which documents would be released and he did not promise a blanket declassification.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time he has made these promises. Earlier, he had made a similar promise during his 2017 to 2021 term, and he did in fact release some documents related to JFK's 1963 slaying. However, during that time, he bowed to pressure from the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and kept a significant chunk of documents under wraps, citing national security concerns.
The assassination of JFK remains a topic of deep interest in the U.S. While Lee Harvey Oswald is officially recognized as the lone gunman, many Americans suspect a larger conspiracy. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of Robert Kennedy and nephew of JFK, has voiced his belief that the CIA played a role in his uncle's death, a claim the agency denies. Kennedy Jr. has also said he believes his father was killed by multiple gunmen, an assertion that contradicts official accounts.
With inputs from Reuters
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