CIA operatives helped Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate John F. Kennedy, an expert said when asked to predict the secrets of still-classified documents.
Trump promised to share the secret files at a rally in Arizona on Friday, where JFK’s cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed his switch from the Democratic Party and voiced his support for the former president.
For years, many have questioned the official account of the events of November 22, 1963, in Dallas, particularly the Warren Commission’s finding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
More than 3,000 documents related to the assassination still contain redactions, and experts suspect the withheld information will reveal that Oswald was assisted in the killing.
Famed JFK scholar Jefferson Morley told The Washington Post He suspects that Kennedy’s opponents at the CIA may have been working with Oswald.
Trump promised to share remaining documents related to John F. Kennedy assassination
Some experts claim the documents will prove the CIA helped Lee Harvey Oswald (pictured) carry out the attack
“Is there a smoking gun in this? You know, this isn’t about a smoking gun,” Morley said.
“This is about the law that says all government JFK documents must be made public by October 2017. We are now seven years past that deadline.”
Morley said the declassified documents show that some CIA officials did not believe Oswald acted alone. One counterintelligence official tried to delay the Warren Commission’s investigation by refusing to provide information about Oswald.
Trump promised to create a commission to investigate attempted assassinations, including the July 13 shooting of the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“This is a tribute in honor of Bobby. I will be creating a new independent presidential commission on attempted assassinations, and they will be tasked with declassifying all remaining documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy,” Trump said.
As president, Trump promised to make the Kennedy files public, but in April 2018 he announced that the public would have to wait several more years because the potential harm to national security, law enforcement, or foreign affairs “is so serious that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure.”
That same month, some 19,000 documents were released by the National Archives.
“I actually did it. I let go of a lot, as you know, but when push came to shove, I was touched by some of the people who work for me, great people who you would respect, and they asked me not to do it,” Trump said on an episode of the All-In podcast.
For years, many have questioned the official story of what happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963. JFK and Jackie Kennedy are pictured moments before he was assassinated.
Other experts believe the documents will show the CIA knew about Oswald before the assassination
However, some experts have no confidence that Trump will make good on his promise, as President John F. Kennedy’s Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 required the files to be released by 2017.
Most presidents have used their discretionary authority to keep files secret on national security matters.
‘[Trump] “If you had the chance to do it, you said you would do it, but you didn’t,” Gerald Posner, author of the 1993 book “Case Closed” about the Kennedy assassination, told the Post.
“Now, with RFK Jr.’s support, maybe he’ll return the favor and maybe this time he’ll actually do it.”
Posner said the surviving documents could show that the CIA knew about Oswald before the assassination but believed he acted alone.