President-elect Trump promised on Sunday to release long-classified government records the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.
Trump promised crowd during his victory rally at the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, telling supporters it was the start of an effort to increase government transparency.
“As a first step toward restoring government transparency and accountability, we will also reverse the excessive classification of government documents,” Trump said.
“In the coming days, we will release the remaining records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he continued. – All this will be published.
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th presidential inauguration Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
During his first administration, Trump promised release all files related to John F. Kennedy, but an unreleased amount of material remains classified more than six decades after Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
After complaints from the CIA and the FBI, Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records. At the time, Trump said the potential harm to US national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs was “of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure.”
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. (Getty, File)
In December 2022. President Biden released reams of documents related to the assassination, although Biden, like Trump earlier, said some documents were withheld due to national security concerns.
Trump’s promise to also release extraordinary documents related to the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, brother of former President John F. Kennedy, leaves questions about how the president-elect will speed up the releases.
Martin Luther King Jr. he was killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. (Getty Images, file)
King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated in 1968.
Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. (AP Photo, File)
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Under the Martin Luther King Jr. Records Collection Act, the remaining files related to King are not to be released until 2027.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
