For decades, historians, politicians, and journalists have eagerly awaited access to the federal government’s complete records on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK). Finally, on Tuesday night, the National Archives released around 1,100 files.
“There’s a lot to read. I don’t think we’re going to redact anything,” said President Donald Trump on Monday at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where he promised the release of “80,000 pages” of documents.
An initial analysis by The Washington Post indicated that all the files released had previously been available, but with numerous redactions that now appear to have been removed. However, it was unclear how many pages they contained in total or whether more documents would be released in the future.
Congress had ordered in 1992 that all case-related files be made public within 25 years. However, the process was hindered by delays, redactions, and restrictions, as agencies such as the FBI and CIA argued that full disclosure could pose a significant national security risk. Both Trump and former President Joe Biden released thousands of documents, although many remained heavily redacted and others were completely withheld.
While the newly released files are unlikely to drastically change the understanding of the assassination, “it’s not impossible,” said Fredrik Logevall, a history professor at Harvard University and a JFK biographer. Nevertheless, they could provide key insights into Lee Harvey Oswald’s whereabouts in the days leading up to the November 22, 1963 attack, as well as what U.S. intelligence agencies knew—and didn’t know—about his movements.
Larry Schnapf, an attorney who has been fighting for the declassification of these documents since 2017, said he does not expect a “smoking gun” with conclusive evidence revealing a direct plot against Kennedy. Instead, he hopes to find details such as names and dates that help connect the dots on what really led to the assassination. However, he did not rule out the possibility of uncovering significant revelations.
Weeks before the assassination, Oswald visited the Cuban consulate and the Soviet embassy in Mexico City, according to National Archives documents declassified in 2017. Some experts believe that the CIA or other agencies may have kept secret files related to these movements.
“It has always been assumed that the final batch of documents to be released would be those related to the intelligence community,” explained John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University and author of several books on Kennedy. Shaw plans to examine whether the newly released files contain evidence of phone calls or other correspondence between Oswald and Cuban or Soviet officials.
The Warren Commission, established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate Kennedy’s assassination, concluded that Oswald acted alone. However, the lack of concrete answers has fueled conspiracy theories for years, suggesting the possible involvement of other forces in the crime.
What the world will likely never know for certain is Oswald’s exact motive for killing Kennedy, several experts told The Washington Post. Two days after the assassination, on November 24, 1963, Oswald was shot dead at the Dallas police station by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.
Before his death, Oswald never confessed to the crime, and according to the National Archives, there are no recordings of his police interrogations.
