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The long-standing mystery surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s death has recently seen a significant development.
In a move to promote transparency, Donald Trump authorized the release of 80,000 pages of classified JFK assassination documents to the public.
President Kennedy was assassinated by gunfire during a motorcade in Texas on November 22, 1963.
The Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, but doubts about his sole involvement have persisted for decades.
For many years, the public has believed that secret organizations, including organized crime syndicates, intelligence agencies, and foreign governments, were involved in the crime.
The JFK Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 was enacted in response to widespread public demand for full transparency regarding the event.
Under this federal legislation, all relevant records were required to be released by 2017, except for those documents withheld due to national security concerns.
While previous administrations had released many documents, some remained classified and have only now been made available.
As President of the United States in January 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14176, which mandated the full declassification of JFK assassination-related documents.
The order extended beyond JFK’s assassination records to include documents related to Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
On March 18, 2025, the National Archives made these documents publicly available in a historic release.
The published materials included CIA reports, FBI documents, diplomatic files, and internal government memos.
The newly released records ignited intense passion among dedicated researchers, historians, and journalists, who examined the documents thoroughly.
Many researchers examining the files began to notice doctrinal inconsistencies.
The massive volume of content released included numerous scanned pages, some fragmented with blurry images and hard-to-read handwriting.
Several sections of the disclosed documents were still obscured by black markings, raising doubts about the completeness of the release.
While the government promoted these disclosures as a step toward greater transparency, skeptics quickly raised questions about the development.
Jefferson Morley of the Mary Ferrell Foundation commented, “This is a significant step, but the real question is whether these documents provide new information.”
Public interest shifted when a significant revelation emerged during the analysis of the document format and the redacted sections.
Investigators discovered that many key parts of the documents had already been published in previous years.
Most people pointed out that a large portion of the previously released information resurfaced when Biden disclosed it in 2023.
A wave of social media criticism followed when it became clear that the documents contained no new information.
One Twitter user shared that they ran the JFK files through their analysis system and found that the information matched what Biden had already released in 2023. “Biden had already shared the exact material with the public. MAGAs got played again.”
Another person pointed out that the JFK files contained versions of documents that had previously been released without redactions. “We’ve been played.”
Biden’s 2023 document release showed no notable differences, apart from the header, when compared to Trump’s planned 2025 release.
“The only change?” Twitter users noted that Biden’s files were labeled with a 2023 release date, while Trump’s files had the crossed-out “Secret” designation and a 2025 release timestamp.
The government’s efforts at JFK assassination transparency now face renewed criticism, fueled by the backlash over the contents of the newly released files.
The newly released documents were intended to provide clarity, but instead, they raised even more questions for readers.
Given the current circumstances, it remains uncertain whether any breakthroughs will occur, as the mystery surrounding the Kennedy assassination continues to resist resolution.
Feature Image Credit: (National Archives) (Instagram/john_.f._kennedy) and (Instagram/realdonaldtrump)
