The U.S. government today released more than 10,000 pages of previously classified records related to the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
The release, ordered by President Donald J. Trump and carried out under the direction of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, marks the first time these documents have been made available to the public. The files had remained buried in federal archives for decades, unlike those related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which had already undergone a declassification process in accordance with federal law.
“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,” said DNI Gabbard. “My team is honored that the President entrusted us to lead the declassification efforts and to shine a long-overdue light on the truth.”
The project is part of President Trump’s broader push for what he has called “maximum transparency” in the Intelligence Community and federal agencies. In his Executive Order 14176, President Trump directed the release of all government-held records pertaining not only to RFK’s assassination but also to that of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of the late senator, praised the decision. “Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” he said. “I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency.”
The newly released RFK files are now accessible to the public at archives.gov/rfk, with minimal redactions made only for privacy protections, such as Social Security and Tax Identification numbers.
In the course of digitizing and reviewing old records, intelligence agencies uncovered an additional 50,000 pages of RFK-related documents that had not previously been submitted to The National Archives. Officials say these will be reviewed and released in phases, with further updates posted to the same government webpage.
The move has already sparked interest among historians, researchers, and transparency advocates, many of whom have long called for full disclosure of the government’s role in investigating the high-profile political assassinations of the 1960s.
