Politics
07:23, 27-Oct-2017
White House releases some JFK docs, keeps others secret
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US President Donald Trump on Thursday approved the release of 2,800 documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but delayed the publication of some "sensitive" files, administration officials said.
Officials said Trump delayed the release of some documents at the request of the CIA, FBI and other agencies.
Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy during his Presidential Campaign in New York, US on May 14, 1960. / AFP Photo
Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy during his Presidential Campaign in New York, US on May 14, 1960. / AFP Photo
More than 50 years after US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the United States has started releasing the final documents regarding his death.
Over the years, the US government generated about five million pages of documents pertaining to the assassination. Most have been made public in full or part, but about one percent of those remain classified. A 1992 law requires all documents be released within 25 years.
The White House has asked for further review of sensitive documents by April, 2018.
President Kennedy was shot while his motorcade made its way through downtown Dallas, Texas in November, 1963. According to the US government, Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone shooter. Over the decades, conspiracy theories have swirled around the assassination – with some claiming there was more than one shooter or that the Soviet Union, the CIA or even the Mafia was involved.
Xinhua Photo
Xinhua Photo
"The Kennedy assassination may seem like ancient history to people now. But actually it was a demarcation point in American history. Before that date, Americans were remarkably trusting in the credibility of their government. After November 22, the deterioration began," said Larry Sabato, a professor at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Oswald was shot and killed shortly after the assassination while in police custody. Experts warn the released documents probably won't shed much new light on the assassination.
"Thousands of pages. It will take years to analyze all of this. And there is not going to be a document entitled: ‘Here are the participants in the Kennedy assassination’ It's not going to happen," Said Sabato.
Polls have consistently found about 60% of Americans think Oswald did not act alone. Most experts say, barring major revelations, it's unlikely these documents will put any of the conspiracy theories to rest.
Rick Shenkman, historian and also the author of "Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics," talked to CGTN’s Mike Walter about the intrigue around the newly-released JFK assassination documents, decades after the tragic event.
