The National Archives has released the first batch of remaining documents related to the assassination of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.) following President Trump’s order that the records be made publicly available.
The Archives released the 229 files, made up of more than 10,000 pages, on Friday morning with additional releases expected to come.
It follows through on an executive order that Trump signed a few days into office in January to disclose the documents that the federal government has related to the assassinations of Kennedy, his brother and former President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
“Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of President Trump,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement about the documents’ release. “My team is honored that the President entrusted us to lead the declassification efforts and to shine a long-overdue light on the truth.”
It is not immediately clear how much new information that has not been publicly disclosed in some way is included in the documents. The release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence states that these documents, unlike those related to the JFK assassination, have not been digitized and were “collecting dust” in government facilities across the country for decades.
Much anticipation had built up ahead of Trump’s release of the JFK files, but observers hoping for a smoking gun were let down last month as the documents contained some new details but no key information that changed the public’s understanding of what happened. Many of those documents had been released to the public previously in some form but had been redacted.
Some small redactions remained in the JFK files, but the Trump administration also received criticism over its disclosure of personal information released on sources that the country’s intelligence agencies used or others involved in investigating the shooting, including some Social Security numbers. Trump defended the decision by arguing that these individuals had already died, but at least a few who are still alive said their information was disclosed without their consent.
The release notes that the RFK files will have some redactions for Social Security and Tax Identification Numbers.
Some conspiracy theories have lingered about RFK’s shooting decades later even if not to the same extent as his brother’s. Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of killing RFK while he campaigned for president in 1968, but some have suggested that he was set up or another shooter was involved.
Sirhan has admitted to killing Kennedy and suggested he did it over Kennedy’s support for Israel, but he later said he doesn’t remember doing so.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eventually came to believe Sirhan was innocent and should be granted parole from his life imprisonment sentence.
That sentiment hasn’t been shared by most of the rest of the Kennedy family.
“Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” Kennedy Jr. said in the release. “I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency.”
A two-person parole board recommended that Sirhan be granted parole in 2021, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) denied the request, saying Sirhan had “failed to address the deficiencies” that led to him committing the shooting.
The documents related to King’s assassination have yet to be released.
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