US declassifies 80,000 pages of JFK assassination records following Trump’s order

WASHINGTON: The US government has released approximately 80,000 pages of previously classified records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, following an executive order by President Donald J Trump. The records were made available on Tuesday without redactions, said an official statement from the Office of the Director National Intelligence.

Trump had previously highlighted the need for transparency, stating that “the continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of JFK is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue.” His Executive Order 14176 directed that all remaining records be fully released, as per the statement.

Upon receiving the President’s decision, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard sent a directive across the Intelligence Community (IC) instructing agencies to provide “all unredacted records within the President John F Kennedy Assassination Records Collection to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for immediate release.”

President Trump is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency. Today, per his direction, previously redacted JFK Assassination Files are being released to the public with no redactions. Promises made, promises kept. https://t.co/UnG1vkgxjX pic.twitter.com/XBbkQfz4Bx

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) March 18, 2025

The records are now accessible online at archives.gov/jfk and in person at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Some documents, currently only available for in-person viewing, are being digitized and will be uploaded in the coming days. “DNI Gabbard will post updates on X (@DNIGabbard) and Truth Social (@DNITulsiGabbard) as the files are released,” the statement added. The White House website will also host the files.

According to the release, “This release consists of approximately 80,000 pages of previously-classified records that will be published with no redactions. Additional documents withheld under court seal or for grand jury secrecy, and records subject to section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, must be unsealed before release”.

The National Archives is working with the Department of Justice to expedite the unsealing of these records. “Grand juries from many years ago have already seen them, so most of this information is already out, but regardless of this, this information will be immediately released upon the direction of the Court”, the statement said.

The release also includes key documents, such as the unredacted text of a June 1961 memo on the CIA, sent to President Kennedy by aide Arthur Schlesinger Jr. This memo, which had previously contained heavy redactions, contained sharp criticism of the CIA’s role in U.S. foreign policy.

Additionally, the government has released 14 documents related to the 1968 assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, totaling about 1,050 pages. The release follows decades of secrecy. In 1992, Congress had mandated that all JFK assassination records be declassified by 2017. However, both Trump and President Joe Biden delayed full disclosure due to national security concerns.

Tuesday’s release is part of an effort to provide “maximum transparency and a commitment to rebuild the trust of the American people in the Intelligence Community (IC) and federal agencies”. (ANI)