WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. intelligence community has submitted recommendations to President Donald Trump on the release of classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a moment in American history that has fueled decades of speculation and conspiracy theories.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) confirmed that it sent its plan to the White House in line with Trump’s executive order.
The recommendations, submitted last Friday, could determine the extent of public access to intelligence and law enforcement files surrounding Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas.
Trump, who returned to the presidency in January, had vowed on the campaign trail to make public the classified records.
He made a similar pledge during his first term, partially releasing documents in 2017 before ultimately withholding thousands of pages, citing national security concerns under pressure from the CIA and FBI.
A Longstanding Debate
The official U.S. government position has remained unchanged: Kennedy was assassinated by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine with communist sympathies.
Despite this, numerous polls indicate that many Americans believe his death was the result of a broader conspiracy.
Historians and experts anticipate that the latest document release is unlikely to dramatically alter the prevailing narrative.
Fredrik Logevall, a Harvard historian, suggested that while the files might provide new insights, they are unlikely to overturn the fundamental understanding of Kennedy’s assassination.
One of the most significant revelations could involve what U.S. intelligence agencies knew about Oswald before the killing.
Gerald Posner, author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, noted that any confirmation that the CIA had prior knowledge of Oswald but failed to share intelligence with the FBI would be a major development.
Oswald had visited the Soviet embassy in Mexico City just weeks before the assassination, and some believe U.S. intelligence was tracking him more closely than previously admitted.
Family Calls for Transparency
The push for full disclosure has found a prominent advocate in Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and the nephew of JFK.
Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly claimed that the CIA played a role in his uncle’s death—an accusation the agency denies.
He has also challenged the official version of his father Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination, suggesting that multiple gunmen were involved.
Trump has also ordered a separate review of classified files related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., both killed in 1968.
The administration has yet to announce a timeline for those disclosures.
Conspiracy Theories Persist
Despite official reports reaffirming Oswald’s sole responsibility, speculation about alternative explanations remains rampant.
Barbara Perry, a historian with the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, believes that even full transparency will not settle public skepticism.
“I can’t imagine any document that would convince conspiracy theorists that Oswald acted alone,” she said. “For those deeply invested in the idea of a cover-up, new records are unlikely to change their views.”
While the White House reviews the intelligence community’s recommendations, the release of the remaining JFK files could either reinforce the historical consensus—or reignite debate over one of the most scrutinized events in U.S. history.
