U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday authorized the release of classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Federal authorities have long maintained that the murder was carried out by Lee Harvey Oswald, and experts suggest the newly disclosed files are unlikely to change that official narrative.
More than 1,100 files—totaling over 31,000 pages—were posted Tuesday on the website of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The vast majority of the Archives’ broader collection on the assassination, comprising more than six million pages of documents, photographs, films, audio recordings, and artifacts, had already been made public.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of The Kennedy Half-Century, noted that his team has begun reviewing the newly released material. He cautioned, however, that it may take time to fully assess its significance. “We have a lot of work to do over a long period, and people just have to accept that,” Sabato said.
Among the fresh disclosures are notes and interviews—some labeled “secret”—that aim to shed additional light on the assassination, which is officially attributed to Oswald. Despite these revelations, many Americans continue to question the official account of events.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat and nephew of President John F. Kennedy who has served in the Trump administration, has put forward contentious claims suggesting CIA involvement in his uncle’s death. He also believes his father, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, was killed by multiple gunmen, a theory that runs counter to the official version of events.
As Reuters reports, most experts remain skeptical that the documents will significantly alter the long-established account: that Oswald acted alone, firing from the window of the Texas School Book Depository as the presidential motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
A central focus of the newly released files concerns Oswald’s possible ties to the Soviet government. Certain documents imply he may have left the USSR in 1962 with the intention of assassinating Kennedy. Others dispute that claim, including a 1991 report by American professor E.B. Smith based on an interview with KGB agent “Slava” Nikonov, who reportedly concluded Oswald was never a KGB asset.
The records also shed light on U.S. Cold War strategies against Fidel Castro’s regime in Latin America, suggesting that while Castro likely would not risk a direct war with the United States, he may have been willing to bolster support for subversive forces in the region. There are references to “Operation Mongoose,” a CIA-led effort authorized by President Kennedy in 1961 that aimed to destabilize and ultimately overthrow Castro’s government. The documents underscore the strategic maneuvers and tensions of that era.
The fresh release of materials has renewed public interest in Kennedy’s assassination, though experts warn that no dramatic revelations are expected. Trump has characterized his decision to disclose these files as the beginning of a new era of “maximum transparency