After six decades of secrecy, American citizens finally gained access to approximately 80,000 pages of classified documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. President Donald Trump ordered their release on March 19, 2025, fulfilling a campaign promise to increase government transparency.
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For researchers and historians alike, March 19 marked a significant day as digital documents began appearing on National Archives web pages at 7 p.m. By late evening, 2,182 PDFs totaling 63,400 pages had been published online, with more potentially coming soon.
Officials from the National Archives confirmed that 97% of Kennedy records—totaling five million pages—have been made public under Trump’s executive order. Many researchers question why such documents remained classified for over 60 years since Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.
What the New JFK Files Actually Reveal
Most documents confirm information already known to historians studying Kennedy’s death. Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and Assassination of JFK,” spent hours reviewing thousands of newly released pages. “I haven’t seen anything yet that is real news, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something,” Posner said. “The biggest question I have as I go through is, ‘Why were these classified for so many years?’ It’s pretty preposterous.”
Many files focus on U.S. intelligence operations during the early 1960s rather than providing new evidence about Kennedy’s assassination. Cold War tensions, anti-communist activities, and covert operations feature prominently throughout released materials.
One document from January 1962 reveals details about “Operation Mongoose,” a CIA-led campaign authorized by Kennedy himself, aimed at sabotage operations against Cuba to remove Fidel Castro from power.
Larry Schnapf, an environmental lawyer who researches Kennedy’s assassination, stayed up until 4 a.m. examining documents. His findings suggest significant information about government covert activities leading up to the assassination, including Department of Defense documents covering U.S. involvement in Latin America.
CIA Conspiracy Claims Surface
Among more intriguing revelations, a June 1967 memo describes Army intelligence officer Gary Underhill’s alarming claims made shortly after Kennedy’s death. According to documents quoting left-wing magazine Ramparts: “He was very agitated. A small clique within the CIA was responsible for the assassination, he confided, and he was afraid for his life and probably would have to leave the country.”
Less than six months after making these claims, Underhill was found dead from a gunshot wound to his head in his Washington apartment. Officials ruled his death a suicide, yet circumstances raised questions, mainly because Underhill was shot behind his left ear despite being right-handed.
Underhill allegedly had close relationships with high-ranking Pentagon and CIA officials. Friends described him as disturbed when attributing Kennedy’s murder to CIA members involved in illegal contraband operations. According to accounts, Underhill believed Kennedy discovered their activities and was killed to prevent exposure.
Documents also show the CIA tracked newspaper articles alleging agency involvement in Kennedy’s assassination, suggesting ongoing concerns about public perception of potential intelligence community connections.
KGB Investigation of Oswald
Previously unknown details about Soviet intelligence’s interest in Lee Harvey Oswald emerged from declassified documents. A 1991 intelligence report revealed KGB officials investigated whether Oswald had connections to Soviet intelligence during his time living in the USSR from 1959 to 1962. “Nikonov is now confident that Oswald was at no time an agent controlled by the KGB,” states one report.
Soviet investigations concluded that controlling Oswald as an agent would have been challenging. KGB officials watched him closely during his Soviet residence, noting he performed poorly during target practice sessions—an intriguing detail given later events.
Files also mention Oswald’s troubled marriage to his Soviet wife Marina and confirm his visit to the Cuban Consulate in Mexico City months before Kennedy’s assassination, where he made contact with the Soviet Embassy while pursuing travel visas.
The Cuba Link
Beyond specific assassination details, newly released documents provide fascinating glimpses into American intelligence operations during the early 1960s Cold War era. Files reveal extensive efforts targeting Cuba following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, including sabotage operations, assassination attempts against Castro, and intelligence gathering networks.
Military and intelligence focus on Cuba appears prominently throughout documents, showing the Kennedy administration pursued aggressive covert strategies against perceived communist threats. Operation Mongoose details reveal Kennedy personally authorized sabotage operations against Cuba—operations whose exposure might have damaged his political standing.
Files also reveal tensions between different government agencies and potential jurisdictional conflicts that may have hampered information sharing before Kennedy’s assassination.
Lingering Questions Remain
Official conclusions from the Warren Commission—that Oswald acted alone when shooting Kennedy—remain controversial despite new document releases. Public opinion polls consistently show that most Americans believe Kennedy died as a result of a broader conspiracy.
President Trump recently addressed the assassination during an interview aboard Air Force One. When asked if he believes Oswald killed JFK, Trump responded, “I do. And I’ve always held that, of course he was, was he helped?”
Jack Ruby’s killing of Oswald two days after Kennedy’s assassination continues to fuel conspiracy theories. Ruby maintained he killed Oswald to avenge Kennedy and spare Jacqueline Kennedy the trauma of testifying at trial. However, Ruby’s nightclub connections to organized crime figures raise questions about potential mob involvement.
Former President Lyndon Johnson reportedly went to his death believing Castro was involved in Kennedy’s assassination. Similarly, current Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains unconvinced about the circumstances surrounding his own father’s 1968 assassination.
Multiple conspiracy theories implicate various groups, from mafia connections to disgruntled Cuban exiles to intelligence agency involvement. Limitations in physical evidence, contradictory witness testimonies, and continuing document secrecy until now keep such theories alive.
What Experts and Conspiracy Theorists Have to Say
The reaction to the release of these documents has been mixed. Many historians and experts who have spent years investigating the assassination are poring the files with great interest. Some, like Larry Sabato, the head of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, advocate for full transparency, emphasizing that even though these new documents may not reveal every secret, they are essential to uncovering the truth. Sabato remarked, “There will be people who will be looking at the records and seeing if there is any hint of any confirmation about their theory.”
However, some experts, like Gerald Posner, maintain that the documents likely won’t change anyone’s mind about the assassination. “People who don’t believe the official version, they’re just going to say the documents must’ve been destroyed or they’re somewhere else in the government,” Posner said. For those who believe in a larger conspiracy theory, no declassification will be enough to settle the matter.
On social media, the reactions have been lively, with a blend of excitement, skepticism, and criticism.
One user, CliffBoothVSBruceLee, pointed out, “Well, I personally find the news that the head of the CIA and FBI were planning to use the mob to hit Castro a bit of a clue that we weren’t in Kansas, anymore, in 1963. How many anti-conspiracy proponents have scoffed at the suggestion our government had any involvement with the mob?”
Another user, rawautos, commented, “Everyone knew the FBI and CIA had dealings with the mafia. How is this new?” highlighting the widespread acknowledgment of the CIA and FBI’s connections to organized crime, which has been a well-documented part of Cold War history.
However, there’s also a deeper question that some are grappling with. Optimal_Mention1423 succinctly captured this sentiment: “All the Castro plots were pie in the sky either way. We need to decide if the CIA during the Cold War were disorganised, paranoid bureaucrats, or capable of a monumentally public crime and total cover-up that’s eluded proof for 60 years. Because they can’t be both.” calling attention to the tension between the CIA’s covert actions—often seen as disorganized and hasty—and the idea that such a monumental event as Kennedy’s assassination could have been carried out with such precision and secrecy.
robbd7 offered a more cynical view, saying, “The docs release more details about the CIA’s overreliance on covert actions, assassinations, propaganda and more nefarious, embarrassing and likely illegal activity. Those are the details they want to keep hidden, whether or not this proves the JFK conspiracies one way or another is pretty irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. These files are invaluable to understanding of the history (and overreach) of the agency. Their determination to hide their shameful acts and blatant disregard for their charter are the main reasons JFK conspiracies have flourished since basically immediately after the event. When you have a group that objectively lies, conceals and distorts truth you can’t be surprised that people don’t believe you, even if you happen to be telling the truth in that instance.” speaking to the broader issue of public trust in intelligence agencies and how their actions have fueled conspiracy theories for decades.
Future Records Coming Soon
More document releases may follow under Trump’s executive order, which also directed the development of plans for releasing records related to the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, both occurring in 1968.
According to the National Archives, the Kennedy assassination collection contains over six million pages of records, meaning significant material remains available for future release despite the current 97% declassification rate.
Historians and researchers continue analyzing newly released materials, seeking answers to long-standing questions. For the American public, documents offer a chance to evaluate evidence firsthand rather than relying on government summaries, fulfilling the democratic principle that citizens deserve access to information about pivotal historical events.
Continuing the Search for Truth
As we digest the contents of these newly declassified documents, it’s clear that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy remains one of the most perplexing and controversial events in modern American history. Despite the release of tens of thousands of pages of documents, many questions remain unanswered, and the theories continue to evolve.
The files provide a vital piece of the puzzle, but the search for the truth about JFK’s death is far from over. The public’s thirst for knowledge and transparency will likely keep the investigation alive for years. As more information is uncovered, one thing is clear: the story of JFK’s assassination is still unfolding.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons (Photographie initiale : Cecil Stoughton, White House, traitement par IA : Madelgarius, CC BY-SA 4.0), National Archives
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