JFK Assassination Files: New Documents Reveal More Details/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The U.S. government has released more than 63,000 pages of records related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy after President Donald Trump’s order. Many documents previously redacted are now public, but some files—particularly those from the FBI and IRS—remain withheld. Historians and researchers are combing through the files, looking for new insights into Lee Harvey Oswald’s activities, intelligence agency records, and Cold War-era government secrets.
JFK Assassination Files: Quick Look
- Over 63,000 pages of documents released after Trump’s order.
- More than 2,200 files published by the National Archives.
- Historians say major redactions have been lifted, but key files remain missing.
- 1991 CIA memo reveals the KGB monitored Oswald closely but did not control him.
- Some classified FBI and IRS records were not included in the release.
- Experts say it will take months to fully analyze the files.
JFK Assassination Files: New Documents Reveal More Details
JFK Assassination Files: Deep Look
The Release and Trump’s Order
President Donald Trump ordered the declassification of JFK assassination records, leading to Tuesday’s release of 63,000 pages. The files were posted on the National Archives website, adding to the 6 million pages of records already public. Trump, speaking at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, emphasized his commitment to transparency, saying, “We have a tremendous amount of paper. You’ve got a lot of reading.”
Historians and researchers had anticipated the release of 3,000 to 3,500 files, but many remain undisclosed. The FBI recently discovered 2,400 additional records related to the assassination, but they were not part of this release.
New Details from the Documents
One of the most notable files is a 1991 CIA memo from St. Petersburg, which discusses how a KGB official reviewed “five thick volumes” on Oswald. The KGB did not consider Oswald a controlled agent and believed he was difficult to influence. The memo also states that Oswald was a poor marksman when he practiced shooting in the Soviet Union.
Despite the release, key classified records remain missing, particularly those from the Internal Revenue Service and the newly discovered FBI files.
The Ongoing Search for Answers
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, has fueled decades of speculation and conspiracy theories. Oswald, a former Marine and Soviet defector, was arrested for the crime but was fatally shot by Jack Ruby before standing trial. The Warren Commission (1964) concluded that Oswald acted alone, though skepticism has persisted.
Jefferson Morley, a researcher with the Mary Ferrell Foundation, called the release “an encouraging start” but noted that a third of the promised files are still missing. Meanwhile, historian Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia said that while many redactions have been removed, it will take months to assess the full impact of the release.
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