Trump declassifies some documents on John F. Kennedy assassination
What's the story
Around 2,800 files on former President John F. Kennedy's (JFK) assassination have been released on President Donald Trump's orders. However, Trump has blocked the release of some files, citing national security concerns. The contents of the records being released by the National Archives haven't been divulged by administration officials. Questions and conspiracy theories have remained over the Kennedy assassination, which took place in 1963.
What happened?
What happened on that fateful day?
On that fateful day, Kennedy was shot dead while traveling in an open-topped limousine through Dallas. Less than an hour later, another bullet-victim, Dallas policeman JD Tippit also died. The Governor of Texas, John Connally, sitting in front of the president, was also shot but survived. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested shortly thereafter and charged with the murders of Kennedy and Tippit.
Context
Deadline to release remaining classified documents was Thursday
So far, over 90% of the files related to the Kennedy assassination have been released in the public domain. In 1992, Congress passed a law requiring around five million pages of classified records to be released within 25 years, unless the president blocks it. The deadline for this was October 26, 2017. The documents are now available on the National Archives website.
Information
Questions which remain unanswered
Many questions remain even 54 years after the Kennedy assassination. Did Oswald really shoot Kennedy? Was there a second shooter involved besides Oswald? Was Oswald part of a larger Soviet Union or Cuban conspiracy to assassinate the president?
Still classified
Some documents blacked out, not all questions to be answered
In a memo, Trump said Americans deserve to be "fully informed about all aspects of this pivotal event." Trump now said he had "no choice" but to accept some texts being blacked out owing to national security concerns. Reportedly, the CIA, FBI and other agencies lobbied to ensure the documents are kept under wraps. Some redacted documents may be released after a six-month review.