Trump orders declassification of assassination files of John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King

Washington, Jan 24 US President Donald Trump signed the executive order ordering the declassification of records regarding the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert F Kennedy, and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr, and said it is time for the American people to know the "truth".

Sharing the detailed document, the White House said, "Providing Americans with the truth after six decades of secrecy."

"The Executive Order establishes the policy that, more than 50 years after these assassinations, the victims' families and the American people deserve the truth," the statement added.

The executive order directs top administration officials to present a plan to declassify the documents within 15 days.

President John F Kennedy was killed in Dallas in 1963. His brother Robert F Kennedy was assassinated while running for President in California 1968, just two months after Martin Luther King Jr, America's most famous civil rights leader, was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee.

Specifically, the order directs the Director of National Intelligence and other appropriate officials to present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F Kennedy assassination records and Immediately review the records relating to the Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days.

Notably, in Trump's first term, he ordered agencies to move toward disclosing more information about the John F Kennedy assassination.

According to the White House, the President John F Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 required all records related to the assassination be released in 25 years, absent a presidential certification that: Continued postponement is necessary due to identifiable harm to the military defence, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and such identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

"In October 2017 and April 2018 certifications, President Trump directed agencies to reevaluate redactions and disclose any information that no longer warranted withholding. President Biden delayed disclosure in 2021, 2022, and 2023," the statement added.

Trump said the continued withholding of the John F Kennedy records is "not in the public interest and is long overdue", while further adding that releasing the Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination records is in the 'public interest'.

Notably, it was President Trump's campaign promise to release assassination records to give Americans the truth.

President Trump pledged on multiple occasions to release the JFK files, specifically stating in June 2024 that he would do so "early on".

"When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It's been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!" Trump said.

Source: IANS