Why Have JFK Assassination Files Remained Classified For Decades?

JFK Assassination Files: President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will release all remaining government files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The long-awaited disclosure, set for Tuesday, will make approximately 80,000 pages of unredacted records available to the public for the first time.

“People Have Been Waiting Decades”

Speaking at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, where he now serves as board chairman, Trump underscored the significance of the move.

“People have been waiting decades for this,” he said. “We have a tremendous amount of paper. You’ve got a lot of reading. I don’t believe we’re going to redact anything.”

The release follows an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office in January, aimed at fully declassifying government documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, his brother and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Thousands of JFK-Related Files Remain Locked Away

Despite the passage of nearly six decades since Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, more than 15,000 files remain classified and stored at the National Archives. The decision to release the documents follows increasing public demand and legal pressure.

In October 2022, a lawsuit was filed against the Biden administration and the National Archives, calling for the full release of all JFK-related documents. The lawsuit came amid reports that multiple government agencies, including the FBI and CIA, were actively trying to keep certain documents classified.

What Might the JFK Documents Reveal?

While some of the classified files may only have indirect relevance to the assassination, others are believed to contain key investigative information. Politico reported that some of the documents originate from the FBI’s “main investigative case files” on the Kennedy murder.

Among the most significant files are those related to Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s assassin, and Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who killed Oswald two days later.

According to Jefferson Morley, vice-president of the historical archive Mary Ferrell Foundation, the files could shed light on a covert CIA program related to Cuba that involved Oswald just months before he shot Kennedy. The Daily Mail has suggested that these records might be the long-sought “smoking gun” proving direct links between Oswald and the CIA.

Why Have These Documents Been Kept Secret?

The continued classification of thousands of JFK assassination-related documents has long been controversial. Politico noted that withholding these documents contradicts the intent of the 1992 JFK Records Act, which was meant to ensure the release of virtually all assassination-related files by now.

The lack of full transparency, nearly 60 years after Kennedy’s murder, has fueled speculation and reinforced conspiracy theories. Critics argue that the refusal of the CIA, FBI, and other agencies to provide a detailed explanation for the secrecy only adds to public skepticism.

A Bureaucratic Battle Over Disclosure

Internal correspondence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals intense disagreements among government agencies over the declassification process. Documents reviewed by the Daily Mail indicate a “furious bureaucratic tug-of-war” between the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, and other departments, with several agencies “desperately trying to keep them under wraps.”

One of the primary concerns cited by these agencies is the protection of still-living intelligence and law-enforcement informants from the 1960s and 1970s. Officials fear that revealing their identities could expose them to intimidation or even violence.

Also Read: JFK Files: What’s Inside The 80,000 Pages Trump Is Releasing This Tuesday