Trump also ordered the release of files tied to former President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s assassinations.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that declassifies the FBI files related to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. The order also declassified the files on former President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
“That’s a big one, eh?” said Trump just before signing the order. “I know people have been waiting on this … for decades.”
In his order, President Trump notes that the King and Kennedy families and the American public “deserve transparency and truth.”
“It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” the order says.
During Trump’s first day in office on Jan. 20, there had been speculation about an executive order that he paused and passed on signing until later this week. The president acknowledged that while Congress has not directed the release of information pertaining to the assassinations of RFK and Dr. King, “I have determined that the release of all records in the Federal Government’s possession pertaining to each of those assassinations is also in the public interest.”
Despite Thursday’s signing, the FBI files on MLK won’t be immediately released. The order calls for the director of the National Intelligence and U.S. attorney general to coordinate with the assistant to the president for National Security Affairs and the president’s counsel within 45 days to “present a plan to the president for the full and complete release of records relating” to the assassinations of RFK and King and “present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of these records.” For President Kennedy’s assassination, the order calls for the same steps to be made within 15 days.
The decision to declassify FBI files on the 1960s assassinations of the Kennedys and King is major, as much of them have been redacted from public view. President Trump previously agreed to proposed redactions in 2017 and 2018 but ordered a “continued reevaluation.”
This is a breaking news story. Check back for more updates.
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