Donald Trump Plans to Authorize Release of JFK Files

Donald Trump promised on Twitter that he would authorize the release of classified files surrounding the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.

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His announcement came as the 1992 mandate for the release of classified FBI and CIA documents held in the National Archives reaches the October 26 deadline.

Intelligence agencies are aware of the president's ability to prevent some of the files from being released to the public, and they're encouraging him to block some of the documents for the sake of ruining national security interests.

Some speculate that the files may contain information about Lee Harvey Oswald's mysterious trip to Mexico weeks before the assassination and that it could have damaging effects on U.S. and Mexico relations.

A White House official stated, "The President believes that these documents should be made available in the interests of full transparency unless agencies provide a compelling and clear national security or law enforcement justification otherwise."

JFK assassination experts and researchers don't know what other information is contained in the unreleased files, but they believe nothing can alter the fact that Oswald acted alone in the assassination in Dallas, as reported by the 1964 Warren Commission.

If anything, former NY Times reporter Philip Shenon predicts that the files will spark a new round of conspiracy theories.

Roger J. Stone, a friend of Trump's and longtime political advisor, is a major conspiracy theorist who alleged that John F. Kennedy's vice president Lyndon B. Johnson was linked to Kennedy's assassination.

As an advocate for transparency, Stone urged Trump to have the classified information released.

Stone expressed his excitement over Trump's announcement.

 

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Stone told fellow conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones: "I had the opportunity to make the case directly to the president of the United States by phone as to why I believe it is essential that he release the balance of the currently redacted and classified J.F.K. assassination documents."

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, also encouraged Trump to make a "full public release of all remaining records,” and that he should “reject any claims for the continued postponement of the full public release of those records.”

Meanwhile, Gerald Posner, author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK stands firmly with the knowledge of Oswald being the sole culprit in the assassination.

"There's going to be no smoking gun in there," Posner told CNN. "But anybody who thinks this is going to turn the case on its head and suddenly show that there were three or four shooters at Dealey Plaza -- it's not the case."

He did shed light on the government's tendency of historically covering things up from the public. "What the files are doing and why they're important to come out is they fill in the history of the case and show us how the FBI and CIA repeatedly hid the evidence."

It seems there's nothing cold about this case. However, there is one case that's always worth revisiting.

 

H/T - twitter, cnn, nytimes