President Trump has ordered the release of thousands of documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. While historians believe the releases are unlikely to rewrite history, they anticipate valuable insights into these significant events.
President Trump's order to release thousands of documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., could shed additional light on these historical events. However, historians are not expecting any major revelations or paradigm shifts in our understanding of these tragedies.
The National Archives records related to the assassinations in the 1960s were initially slated for release in 2017, during Trump's first term. While many were made public, some remain classified. Former President Joe Biden extended some of those exemptions during his term. Trump's order, issued days after his inauguration, stated that continuing to redact and withhold information 'is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue.' It gives intelligence officials 15 days to present a plan for the release of documents related to President Kennedy's assassination and 45 days for a similar plan pertaining to Robert F. Kennedy and King. For decades, conspiracy theories about the assassinations — especially in the case of President Kennedy — have been fueled by the government's withholding of information from the public, citing national security concerns. Historians argue that this secrecy has inadvertently contributed to the spread of speculation and alternative narratives. More than 300,000 pages making up the 'vast majority of the material' related to President Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, have already been released. Kevin Boyle, a professor of American history, states that of the 'fraction of material' remaining solely in the government's possession, 'my guess is that it's not going to reveal … something new about John Kennedy's assassination.' Fredrik Logevall, a biographer of President Kennedy, agrees that the new information will not 'dramatically overturn our understanding of what happened on that terrible day in Dallas.' 'But even if they don't alter our understanding in this deep way, I think there's still useful information potentially in these materials,' he says.Logevall believes there could be insights into shooter Lee Harvey Oswald's travel to Mexico City in the lead-up to the assassination, such as 'who he talked with when he was there and what the meaning of that trip was.' He also thinks there might be more to learn about covert activity in Cuba. Boyle adds that the released documents could provide more information about the U.S. government's covert operations prior to President Kennedy's assassination. Regarding Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Kathryn McGarr, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, says she doesn't think there's much more to learn. 'We already know quite a bit about how much the government was surveilling and looking at … and how many enemies he had within the government,' she says. 'I don't think that the narrative is going to significantly change, although of course, we could get some more details here and there.' John Stoner, a U.S. history professor at the University of Pittsburgh, points out that the government's efforts to isolate King and investigate potential subversive connections of some of his advisers have contributed to conspiracy theories surrounding his death. King's own family has asserted that James Earl Ray, the man convicted of firing the fatal shot in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, was framed. Stoner expresses hope that new documents might shed light on the degree to which there is any hint of a government conspiracy to have killed King
ASSASSINATIONS JFK ROBERT KENNEDY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DOCUMENTS HISTORY CONSPIRACY THEORIES
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