Over a thousand previously-unseen files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were released Tuesday after President Donald Trump made the long-awaited announcement just one day earlier.
“So, people have been waiting for decades for this, and I’ve instructed my people… lots of different people, [director of national intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard, that they must be released tomorrow,” Trump said during a visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington.
“You got a lot of reading. I don’t believe we’re going to redact anything. I said, ‘just don’t redact, you can’t redact.'”
As of Tuesday night, over 1,100 documents are visible on the National Archive’s website. The files can be viewed by clicking this link.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a statement regarding the documents: “Upon receiving the President’s decision, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard immediately sent out a directive across the IC conveying his directive to provide all unredacted records within the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for immediate release.
“Starting today, the records will be available to access either online at archives.gov/jfk, or in person, via hard copy or on analog media formats, accessible to the American people at National Archives at College Park, MD. Records that are currently only available for in-person viewing are being digitized and will be uploaded to the archives.gov/jfk repository in the coming days. DNI Gabbard will post updates on X (@DNIGabbard) and Truth Social (@DNlTulsiGabbard) as the files are released. The files will also be available on the White House’s website.
“This release consists of approximately 80,000 pages of previously-classified records that will be published with no redactions. Additional documents withheld under court seal or for grand jury secrecy, and records subject to section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, must be unsealed before release. NARA is working with the Department of Justice to expedite the unsealing of these records. Grand juries from many years ago have already seen them, so most of this information is already out, but regardless of this, this information will be immediately released upon the direction of the Court.”
Back in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. (Pool)
“In accordance with President Donald Trump’s directive of March 17, 2025, all records previously withheld for classification that are part of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection are released,” the National Archives said. “The National Archives has partnered with agencies across the federal government to comply with the President’s directive in support of Executive Order 14176.”
“As of March 18, 2025, the records are available to access either online at this page or in person, via hard copy or on analog media formats, at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard commended Trump’s move in an X post on Tuesday, writing that the president “is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency.”
“Today, per his direction, previously redacted JFK Assassination Files are being released to the public with no redactions,” Gabbard wrote. “Promises made, promises kept.”
There will be some redactions made to the documents despite the President’s earlier statements, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. Redactions will include personal information such as Social Security numbers of those cited in the documents and “live assets in Cuba,” the source said.
Fox News also was told that due to the large volume of documents it will take several days to release them all, with Tuesday being the first day.
WEEKS AFTER EPSTEIN FILE FALLOUT, A NEW DEADLINE LOOMS IN THE RELEASE OF THE RFK AND MLK FILES
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 while visiting Dallas. (Associated Press)
Back in January, Trump signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of JFK, his brother Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK). The order requested that the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the attorney general submit a proposed plan for the JFK files release by February 7.
Both offices, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, had until the end of the day to submit their proposed plan.
DNI and other officials were expected to submit their proposed release plans for the RFK and MLK files on March 9.
The JFK files release comes just a few weeks after the Justice Department revealed a batch of Jeffrey Epstein files in late February. Many of the documents publicized then had already been released during the federal criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and convicted accomplice.
The lack of new material prompted an outcry and criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files – and questions about what the RFK and MLK documents could hold upon their release.
A new batch of approximately 80,000 unredacted files on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is set to be released Tuesday after President Donald Trump made the long-awaited announcement just one day earlier. (Associated Press)
The FBI previously said in a February statement that it had conducted a new records search in light of Trump’s executive order, saying at the time, “The search resulted in approximately 2400 newly inventoried and digitized records that were previously unrecognized as related to the JFK assassination case file.”
FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK’S ASSASSINATION
The promise of a JFK files release has been reiterated over the last several administrations, with Trump promising on the campaign trail to declassify the documents upon entering his second term.
“When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth,” he said at the time.
Former President Joe Biden also released batches of documents during his term. In 2021, he postponed the planned release of several JFK documents, citing the delay to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Trump had also promised to release the last batch of documents during his first term, but such efforts ultimately dissipated. Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records on the assassination following several CIA and FBI appeals.
Former President Joe Biden also released batches of documents during his term. In 2021, he postponed the planned release of several JFK documents, citing the delay to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
