Release of Kennedy assassination documents – four main conclusions
Kyiv • UNN
The U.S. is studying declassified documents about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. They show how the CIA monitored Lee Harvey Oswald before the assassination, but do not fully reveal the mystery.
In the United States, enthusiasts are studying thousands of recently released documents by order of President Donald Trump regarding the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, it is difficult to say at this time how much these materials will shed light on one of the most mysterious murders of the 20th century, writes UNN with reference to the BBC.
As experts predicted, this latest release by the new head of the White House does not answer all the questions about one of the most pivotal events in US history – the assassination of then-President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.
But the latest package contains documents that are now almost or completely unedited. In addition, they show how much the Central Intelligence Agency watched John F. Kennedy's killer before the shooting.
The official US government investigation in the 1960s concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, a drifter and former US Marine who once fled to the then Soviet Union, acted alone when he shot at Kennedy's motorcade from a nearby building.
However, this case still raises questions and gives rise to incredible, almost fantastic conspiracy theories. The publication of new materials is unlikely to change this situation.
CIA and Lee Harvey Oswald – a long-term confrontation
These documents further shed light on the CIA's close surveillance of Oswald, said Jefferson Morley, a former Washington Post reporter and editor of the JFK Facts blog.
He was the subject of deep CIA interest long before the assassination, and the extent of that has only become apparent in the last few years
Many new documents have been published before, but more complete versions are now available. Although specialists are still studying them, no sensational stories have emerged.
Nevertheless, experts praised the release of new documents as a step towards transparency. In the past, hundreds of thousands of documents were available, but were partially redacted. Others were restrained, with officials citing national security concerns.
Philip Shenon, who wrote a book about the assassination in 2013, told the Associated Press that previously released documents described Oswald's trip to Mexico City in September 1963, a few months before the assassination. According to him, at that time he was being watched by the CIA.
In a previously released note from April 1975, the CIA downplayed what it knew about Oswald's trip to Mexico City. The CIA also recorded three phone conversations between Oswald and a security guard at the Soviet embassy, but Oswald admitted to only one.
Intelligence methods revealed
A number of documents shed light on Kennedy's relationship with the CIA before his death and on intelligence gathering methods during the Cold War.
A recently unedited note reveals a more complete version of a note written by Kennedy aide Arthur Schlesinger.
Harshly criticizing the CIA and its role in shaping foreign policy, the note shows the agency's huge presence in US embassies, even in allied countries such as France.
Schlesinger warns Kennedy about the agency's influence on American foreign policy. Although the memorandum has no direct bearing on the assassination, it details the complex relationship between the president and the intelligence services.
Villanova University Professor David Barrett explained that the CIA traditionally opposes the disclosure of operational or budgetary information.
It is very good that the government has released these documents, even if they may still be redacted
One document details the use of fluoroscopic scanning – the use of X-rays to show images of the inside of an object.
Return of old theories
Some well-known online records claimed that recent documents reveal new details about long-standing alleged conspiracies against Kennedy.
Among them are several viral posts about Gary Underhill, a World War II military intelligence agent.
Underhill reportedly claimed that a group of CIA agents was behind the assassination. This theory was circulated in 1967. Underhill's death in 1964 was ruled a suicide, but there are doubts about this.
His story has long been discussed online, and a CIA memorandum mentioning him was first published in 2017. Importantly, this theory is based on a secondhand account published after Mr. Underhill's death and contains no compelling evidence.
Are the files fully edited
A 1992 law required the release of all documents related to the assassination within 25 years, but it also provided for exceptions for national security reasons.
The desire for greater transparency has led to the release of more documents over time. President Trump during his first term, and President Biden recently in 2023, released document packages.
Prior to the new release, President Trump said he asked his staff to "not edit anything" from them.
This does not seem to be entirely the case – the new documents still have some edits. However, experts mostly agreed that the latest release was a step forward towards transparency.
It is worth noting that despite the fact that there may be more releases ahead, as well as promised releases about the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr., questions about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are likely to remain relevant.
Addition
Earlier, we wrote that US President Donald Trump said that 80,000 pages of classified documents in the John F. Kennedy assassination case would be released on Tuesday.
The FBI discovered about 2,400 new declassified documents about the assassination of President Kennedy, a total of 14,000 pages of materials. The documents were not previously submitted to the declassification commission and did not reach the National Archives.
