FBI uncovers thousands of secret JFK assassination files

FBI uncovers thousands of secret JFK assassination files
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FBI uncovers thousands of secret JFK assassination files
Published: Feb, 12 2025 00:19

The FBI says it has found 2,400 new files related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy. The agency carried out a new record search after Donald Trump signed an executive order in January for all of the files related to the 1963 shooting to be declassified. The FBI said on Tuesday that the hundreds of newly inventoried and digitised records that have been unearthed were previously unrecognised as related to the Kennedy assassination case file.

It added the documents have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration for "inclusion in the ongoing declassification process". The FBI did not say in its statement what kind of information the newly-discovered files contain. Last week the Office of the Director of National Intelligence sent recommendations to Mr Trump on which classified documents he should release to the public about the assassination, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The office did not release details of the plan or say when the documents would be released. Elon Musk joins Donald Trump in Oval Office as he denies 'hostile takeover' of US government. Trump doubles down on plans to 'take Gaza' as he meets Jordan's King Abdullah. Russia releases American teacher Marc Fogel from prison. John F Kennedy, commonly referred to as JFK, was shot dead while he travelled through Dallas, Texas, in a motorcade on 22 November 1963.

Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old former marine, was charged with the killing the same day before he was shot dead himself by nightclub owner Jack Ruby two days later. In 1964 an investigation into JFK's assassination concluded that Oswald acted alone and there was no evidence of a conspiracy. Historians note that the findings of the Warren Commission were widely accepted by the public - but scepticism from conspiracy theorists in the years that followed led many to start doubting the official story.

Conspiracy theories include that there was more than one shooter, the CIA was behind it, and that the Italian-American mafia was responsible. While the vast majority of the JFK assassination files - more than five million records - have been made public, researchers estimated 3,000 files haven't been released, either in whole or in part. Read more:What are the main conspiracy theories about JFK's assassination?Analysis: 'Who shot JFK?' question fits Trump's 'deep state' narrative'Magic bullet' theory cast into doubt by ex-Secret Service agent.

Follow our channel and never miss an update. Mr Trump, who returned to the White House in January, had promised on the campaign trail to release documents about the shooting. As part of the same executive order, Mr Trump also promised to release documents on the assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr and Senator Robert Kennedy, both of whom were shot dead in 1968. Mr Trump has allowed more time to come up with a plan for those releases.

His pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the son of Robert Kennedy and nephew of JFK, is one of those who believes the CIA was involved in his uncle's death. The agency has described the allegation as baseless. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Documents may reveal details about one of the most significant moments in US history, but historians say they are unlikely to bolster any of the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's death.

"I suspect that we won't get anything too dramatic in the releases, or anything that fundamentally overturns our understanding of what occurred in Dallas," said Fredrik Logevall, a Harvard history professor. One revelation the documents could contain is that the CIA was more aware of Oswald than it has previously disclosed. Files revealing that the CIA failed to share intelligence on Oswald with the FBI would be "a big story," said Gerald Posner, author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, which concludes that Oswald acted alone.

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