WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has officially declassified all remaining government files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, unveiling tens of thousands of previously redacted records to the public.
This historic document release follows Trump’s executive order in January, aimed at full transparency regarding the assassinations of JFK, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
While historians are still combing through the flood of files, early reviews suggest no major revelations contradicting the long-standing conclusion: Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the fatal shooting of Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Want to Read the JFK Files?
The full collection of documents is now available on the National Archives website. These files include:
✅ Scans of government documents (some faded due to age)
✅ Photographs & audio recordings from the 1960s
✅ Reports on Cold War tensions and U.S.-Cuba relations
However, many of the files remain difficult to read due to blurring or degradation over time.
Newly Released Intel: What the Files Say About Oswald
One of the most intriguing documents in the release is a November 20, 1991 teletype from U.S. intelligence. It sheds light on Oswald’s time in the Soviet Union, his tumultuous marriage, and his poor marksmanship—raising more doubts about whether he was capable of executing the assassination alone.
According to the report, KGB official “Slava” Nikonov reviewed Soviet intelligence files and concluded:
📌 Oswald was never a KGB agent. The Soviets monitored him closely but saw no reason to recruit him.
📌 He was “a poor shot” during target practice in the USSR.
📌 His marriage was rocky. His Soviet wife reportedly “rode him incessantly.”
These details are fueling fresh debates among conspiracy theorists, who argue that Oswald lacked the skills to carry out the shooting without assistance.
Oswald, Castro, and Cold War Intrigue
Other newly declassified files touch on U.S. concerns about Cuba’s Fidel Castro, including:
➡️ 1963 Defense Department reports detailing Cold War tensions
➡️ Speculation about Oswald’s motivations for leaving the USSR in 1962
➡️ Analysis of Cuba’s support for communist movements in Latin America
Despite Cold War fears at the time, the U.S. intelligence community believed Castro was unlikely to provoke a war with America, though he might continue supporting communist uprisings in the region.
Experts React: No ‘Smoking Gun’ Yet
James Johnston, author of Murder, Inc.: The CIA Under John F. Kennedy, told USA TODAY that he isn’t expecting any bombshells from the release.
🔎 Why? Most of these documents were handed over to the National Archives in 1988—meaning if there were any earth-shattering revelations, they would have been hidden long ago.
However, one document remains missing:
🕵️♂️ The first one-on-one conversation between President Lyndon B. Johnson and CIA Director John McCone after JFK’s assassination.
McCone has long been suspected of withholding key information from the Warren Commission, which investigated Kennedy’s murder. While he testified that Oswald acted alone, later CIA admissions suggest he may have kept critical details secret.
The Warren Commission & the Conspiracy Debate
The Warren Commission, established by President Johnson, concluded in its final report that Oswald acted alone—a finding that has been widely debated for decades.
📊 Public opinion polls consistently show that many Americans believe Kennedy’s assassination was part of a larger conspiracy.
The new document dump may not change history, but it reignites the debate over what really happened in Dallas that day.
Trump’s Push for ‘Maximum Transparency’
Although Trump has yet to comment directly on the release, his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, praised it as a step toward rebuilding public trust in U.S. intelligence agencies.
💬 “This is part of Trump’s promise for maximum transparency,” Gabbard stated.
Critics have long accused the CIA of withholding key details about the case, while intelligence officials maintain that everything significant has already been disclosed.
In a final push for openness, Gabbard ordered all intelligence agencies to provide any remaining unredacted records to the National Archives for immediate release.
Final Takeaway: Did the JFK Files Reveal the Truth?
While the new JFK files provide fascinating insights into Oswald’s past, Cold War politics, and intelligence agency operations, they don’t appear to definitively settle the conspiracy debate.
However, as historians and experts continue analyzing the documents, more details may emerge in the coming weeks.