Why Were The JFK Assassination Files Kept Classified For So Long?
on Mar 18, 2025
Donald Trump Ordered The Release Of All JFK Assassination Files
After decades of waiting, the remaining JFK Assassination files were released on Tuesday (March 18).
Shortly after starting his second term in office, President Trump issued an executive order (Executive Order 14176) calling for the release of all remaining classified files related to former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The order read:
“I have now determined that the continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue.”
John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in an open motorcade in downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963.
JFK’s death has “officially” been attributed to a lone assailant, Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald himself was killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby just two days later, on November 24, 1963.
However, many have expressed skepticism about Oswald’s involvement. Some believe he worked with an organization, entity, or other individuals to orchestrate the crime. Others believe Oswald was not involved at all and he was simply a “patsy” who got blamed for the crime to hide the “truth.”
As the decades passed, and a number of the JFK assassination files remained classified, the public’s suspicions grew. Many drew conclusions that the files were kept tucked away to hide evidence of a cover-up or conspiracy.
Why Did It Take So Long To Release The Files To The Public?
Since JFK died over 60 years ago, many have questioned why it took so long to release all of the files connected to his assassination.
As The Miami-Herald details in a 2023 report, Oliver Stone’s 1991 movie JFK, starring Kevin Costner, led to a greater push to release the JFK assassination files. The following year (1992), Congress passed the JFK Records Act to initiate the identification and release of the files.
The Miami-Herald reports that all of the documents were supposed to be released by 2017. However, some were still kept classified.
Rex Bradford, the President of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, spoke to The Miami-Herald for their 2023 report. Bradford shared why he believed many of the JFK assassination files remained classified at that time, saying:
“This information at this point, a lot of it is informant names, agent names, the location of CIA bases, some of it’s sensitive information, embarrassing information.”
Kaeten Mistry, a professor of American history at the University of East Anglia in England, added:
“The vast majority of records that remain secret, or were recently released, will relate to national security matters. The government is always more cautious when it comes to releasing those to the public.”
According to the National Archives, “six million pages of assassination-related records” are housed in the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. The National Archives says, “The vast majority of this Collection has been declassified and is already available to the public either in-person or online.“
Executive Order 14176 initiated the release of the last classified files, totaling 80,000 pages. These files were made available to the public on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
The National Archives plans to release these formerly classified files “on a rolling basis.” You can view them and the other JFK assassination files on the National Archives website.
