President Donald Trump has authorized the release of thousands of previously classified documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The disclosure, which amounts to approximately 80,000 pages of records, is being carried out without redactions as part of Trump’s commitment to government transparency. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) confirmed the document release in a statement on Tuesday.
The decision follows Trump’s announcement on Monday at the Kennedy Center, where he reaffirmed his stance on full disclosure. “President Trump is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency,” ODNI Director Tulsi Gabbard stated. “Today, per his direction, previously redacted JFK Assassination Files are being released to the public with no redactions. Promises made, promises kept.”
According to ODNI, the newly released documents can be accessed online or in hard copy at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The agency also noted that records currently available only for in-person viewing will be digitized and uploaded to the National Archives’ website in the coming days. Updates regarding the releases will be provided via X, Trump’s Truth Social platform, and the White House website.
Despite the mass declassification, ODNI clarified that certain records remain under legal restrictions, including documents withheld under court seal, grand jury secrecy laws, and provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The National Archives is working with the Department of Justice to expedite the unsealing process for those remaining records, with ODNI stating that most of the information has already been reviewed by past grand juries. Once legal barriers are cleared, the remaining documents will be released as directed by the court.
The assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, in Dallas remains a subject of intense public interest and speculation. Shortly after the shooting, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with killing Kennedy and Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. Oswald denied involvement, claiming he was a “patsy,” but he was never brought to trial—two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed him on live television.
The official investigation, led by the Warren Commission, concluded that Oswald acted alone. However, skepticism persisted, leading Congress to pass the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act in 1992, requiring the full release of assassination-related records. Successive administrations delayed full disclosure, citing concerns over national security and foreign affairs. In 2017, Trump ordered the partial release of some files but held back others, citing intelligence and law enforcement concerns. President Joe Biden also postponed full declassification.
Trump renewed his pledge in 2023, stating he would fully declassify all JFK assassination files if re-elected. Upon returning to office, he signed an executive order expanding declassification efforts to include records related to the assassinations of Kennedy’s brother, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. RFK’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serves as Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The release of these documents represents a landmark moment in government transparency. For decades, withheld records fueled speculation about potential conspiracies, foreign involvement, and government cover-ups. Now, Americans have the opportunity to review these historical documents in full, drawing their own conclusions based on primary-source evidence rather than filtered narratives.
