The information comes more than six decades on from the 35th President of the United States’ death
The Trump administration has released a trove of documents on the assassination of former US President John F. Kennedy, painting an eerie picture of the tragic 1963 event.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was tragically assassinated on November 22, 1963, during a visit to Dallas, Texas—just two years and ten months into his presidency.
His shocking death sent ripples through history, fueling six decades of speculation and conspiracy theories. Despite the FBI’s official stance that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, countless skeptics remain convinced that the true story is far more complex, keeping the mystery alive to this day.
In a historic move to finally address decades of unanswered questions, President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Tuesday (March 18) that all classified government files on the JFK assassination had been released.
For the first time, thousands of previously hidden documents are now open for public scrutiny, according to USA Today. However, historians caution that it will take time to sift through the vast collection and determine whether these files offer groundbreaking revelations or simply repackage previously known information.
“You got a lot of reading,” Trump, 78, quipped to reporters on Monday (March 17) during a visit to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “I don’t believe we’re going to redact anything.”
Yet, BBC reports suggest that some of the newly unsealed files still contain redacted passages, while others are barely legible due to fading and poor-quality scans.
Despite these challenges, experts are already uncovering intriguing details about the assassination—the fourth in U.S. presidential history.
Why Were the JFK Files Declassified?
According to the National Archives and Records Administration, the majority of records related to JFK’s assassination had already been released over the years. However, some pages remained classified due to concerns about national security risks.
Trump, fulfilling a key campaign promise, signed an executive order earlier this year to make the remaining files public, per Reuters.
Now, roughly 2,200 new documents have entered the public domain. Jefferson Morley, vice president of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, hailed the release as an “encouraging start.”
Previously, Trump had stated that up to 80,000 pages would be made available—raising anticipation over what new insights might still be hidden within this monumental declassification.
JFK’s Killer Branded a ‘Poor Shot’ in Newly Released Files
Lee Harvey Oswald, the man accused of assassinating President John F. Kennedy from a sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository, was just 24 years old at the time of the killing.
Following the assassination, Oswald fled through Dealey Plaza, later murdering police officer J.D. Tippit before being apprehended in a local movie theater.
However, newly declassified files suggest that Oswald—who had military training—was reportedly considered a “poor shot.” According to The Express, intelligence sources monitoring Oswald during his time in the Soviet Union observed him at a firing range, noting that his marksmanship was subpar.
The documents also reveal that Oswald was allegedly under surveillance by the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) and that he had a “stormy relationship” with his wife, Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova.
“Oswald had a stormy relationship with his Soviet wife, who rode him incessantly,” one document states, shedding light on his personal struggles leading up to the fateful day.
British Embassy ‘Warned’ About Oswald Months Before Assassination
Among the most startling revelations from the declassified records is a letter sent to the British Embassy by a man named Sergyj Czornonoh, who claimed to have firsthand knowledge of Oswald’s intentions.
The letter alleges that Czornonoh had warned London officials—who detained him in July 1963—that Oswald was planning to kill Kennedy. He also claimed that American Vice Consul Tom Blackshear was aware of Oswald’s plans and his prior defection to the Soviet Union.
Despite these warnings, the CIA failed to take significant action. Oswald was neither reprimanded nor closely monitored upon his return to the United States—an oversight that continues to fuel speculation about whether his actions were truly those of a lone gunman.
Jack Ruby’s Possible Ties to Organized Crime Surface in Declassified JFK Files
Jack Ruby—the nightclub owner who stunned the world by fatally shooting Lee Harvey Oswald on live television just two days after JFK’s assassination—may have had deeper connections to organized crime than previously believed.
The newly released documents suggest Ruby, born Jacob Leon Rubenstein, was entangled in racketeering and illegal gambling, raising suspicions that he may have been acting under orders rather than out of impulsive patriotism.
“For some, he’s the Rosetta Stone of the JFK conspiracy,” said Stephen Fagin, curator at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. “For others, he’s just a man who acted on impulse to avenge Kennedy.”
Ruby’s conviction and death sentence were overturned, and he was granted a new trial. However, he never had his day in court—he died on January 3, 1967, of a pulmonary embolism after being diagnosed with cancer.
Oswald Wasn’t Under KGB Control, Documents Claim
For decades, theories have swirled about whether Lee Harvey Oswald was working with Soviet intelligence. But the newly unsealed records indicate that the KGB had no involvement in controlling Oswald.
One file references American professor E.B. Smith, who allegedly formed a connection with a CIA agent stationed in St. Petersburg before the assassination. According to the document, Smith relayed information from a KGB official named ‘Slava’ Nikonov, who stated:
“Nikonov is now confident that Oswald was at no time an agent controlled by the KGB.”
While this finding dismisses one of the most persistent conspiracy theories, it leaves many other questions surrounding Oswald’s true motives and possible connections unanswered.
Most of the information is already out there
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JFK Files ‘Bombshell’ Falls Flat—Most Information Already Released Under Biden
Despite the Trump administration’s promise to reveal the truth behind JFK’s assassination, one of the biggest revelations from the newly declassified documents is that there’s little—if anything—new.
Critics quickly pointed out that in 2023, former President Joe Biden had already made 17,000 documents publicly available. Many took to social media to voice their frustration, with one user writing:
“The JFK Files contain REDACTED versions of files that have already been released un-redacted. Just like with the Epstein Files. We’ve been played.”
Another added: “WOW! Did Trump really just release all of the same JFK files that Biden released in 2023?”
Journalist Ed Krassenstein further noted a key difference between the two administrations’ releases:
“The only difference? The top of Biden’s says ‘2023 Release,’ and Trump’s says ‘2025 Release’—and the word ‘secret’ is crossed out in Trump’s version.”
While the release was framed as a step toward government transparency, it has left many conspiracy theorists and historians underwhelmed, as they had hoped for truly new, unfiltered insights into the most infamous assassination in American history.
