The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Tuesday, February 11th, that they have discovered 2,400 new files related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. Currently, federal agencies are working to comply with the executive order issued by then-President Trump last month to release thousands of documents.
The FBI stated that they are transferring these files to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for inclusion in the declassification process.
In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all documents related to the Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963, be stored in a dedicated database at the National Archives. Despite the archive already disclosing over 5 million pages of records, researchers estimate that around 3,000 files remain incompletely declassified.
The FBI did not disclose the specific content of the newly discovered files. In 2020, the agency established a Central Records Complex and initiated a long-term plan to digitize closure files from various offices, as well as inventory, catalog, and archive them. The FBI mentioned that new technology, combined with more comprehensive record-keeping, allows for quicker searching and locating of these files.
Jefferson Morley, Vice President of the Mary Ferrell Foundation and editor of the “Kennedy Facts” blog, described the FBI’s disclosure as “unusually frank.” The foundation specializes in gathering, preserving, and archiving documents related to the Kennedy assassination.
Morley stated, “This shows that the FBI is indeed pushing for transparency.”
He pointed out that this might put pressure on other agencies to release documents that have not yet been transferred to the National Archives.
Last month, Trump issued an executive order instructing the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to develop a plan to declassify files related to the Kennedy assassination. A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated that they have submitted a release plan in accordance with the order but did not provide specific details or a timeline for when these files will be made public.
According to regulations, these files were supposed to be fully disclosed in 2017, unless extended by a presidential approval. During his first term, Trump pledged to release all remaining files but ultimately retained some content due to national security concerns. Although former President Biden gradually declassified some files during his term, there are still documents that have not been made public.
The Kennedy assassination has sparked numerous conspiracy theories over the years. In 1963, as President Kennedy’s motorcade passed the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, sniper Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed him from the sixth floor. Two days later, while Oswald was being transferred to prison, he was shot and killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, leading to Oswald’s immediate death.
However, Oswald claimed to be a “patsy” upon arrest, insisting he did not commit the crime. As he was killed before trial, the case raised many doubts and controversies that persist to this day.
President Lyndon B. Johnson subsequently established the Warren Commission to investigate the case, concluding that Oswald acted alone without conspiracy. However, this conclusion did not dispel public suspicion of other possibilities, fueling various alternative theories for decades.
Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed,” which argues that Oswald acted alone, mentioned that the newly discovered files could possibly be duplicate versions of previously disclosed documents.
He remarked, “If these are indeed brand new assassination-related files, then the question arises: how were these files overlooked for so many years?”
Posner added, “It would be truly surprising if these files pertain to Oswald or the investigation into the case.”
In recent years, publicly released documents from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have revealed operational details of the intelligence agency at that time. They include mentions of Oswald’s visits to the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City weeks before the assassination.
The former Marine who defected to the Soviet Union and later returned to Texas had been under CIA surveillance.
Morley noted that the CIA’s monitoring of Oswald has become a focus of research over the past 5 to 10 years. He believed that the new files might also contain further information in this regard.
This article references related reports from the Associated Press.