Donald Trump releases secret documents on the assassination of former US President Kennedy

The administration of former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday released thousands of previously classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The move fulfilled a major promise to make transparent information kept secret for decades.

The National Archives and Records Administration began releasing 80,000 pages of material on its website, starting shortly after 7 p.m. The documents, which have been made public without redactions, include information about assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's ties to the Soviet Union. One of the documents shows a 1963 letter in which an individual claimed to have warned authorities about Oswald's plans to kill Kennedy.

Trump: "Maximum Transparency"

Former President Trump had ordered the release of the documents through an executive order, calling their withholding incompatible with the public interest. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said that some documents have not yet been declassified due to legal restrictions and will be made public once the review process is complete.

“President Trump is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency,” Gabbard declared. “Today, on his orders, all documents from the JFK assassination are being released without any redaction. Promises made, promises kept.”

What Do Published Documents Contain?

The materials include government memos and correspondence on the investigation into Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Oswald was arrested as the prime suspect after, according to the government, he fired three shots at the president from a building near the presidential motorcade. The Warren Commission, set up to investigate the incident, concluded that Oswald acted alone, although many Americans continue to believe that the assassination was part of a larger conspiracy.

The documents also include CIA analysis of Oswald's activities while in the Soviet Union and his contacts with Soviet officials. A declassified document shows that the KGB had Oswald under surveillance, but there was no evidence that he was an agent.

Ignored Warnings of Assassination

Another section of the documents tells of a specific case where a man named Sergyj Czornonoh claims to have informed a US official in Sofia, Bulgaria, about Oswald's plan to assassinate Kennedy in August 1963. He says his warning was not taken seriously by the authorities.

New Leads on Foreign Involvement

A 1968 CIA memo mentions an investigation into anonymous phone calls made to the US embassy in Australia before and after the assassination. Another document contains information about a theory that Oswald had Soviet connections, but intelligence analysis shows that he was not a KGB agent.

Also discovered in the files are early memos from 1959, which relate to US government efforts to aid the Cuban opposition against Fidel Castro's regime, including plans for covert interventions.

New Discoveries, But Still Unanswered Questions

The release of these documents could help shed light on many conspiracy theories that have circulated for decades. However, a full analysis of these materials will take weeks or months for historians and researchers to process. Despite the new discoveries, the mystery surrounding President Kennedy's assassination still remains shrouded in speculation and doubt. / The Washington Times