JFK Week In Review: Trump Signs the Order
A digest of this week's assassination-related stories focuses on President Trump's historic edict to free up files related to the deaths of JFK, RFK and MLK Jr.
A big week in JFK news!
On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order demanding the Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The order calls for a plan to be presented to him for the “full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy” in 15 days. Plans for release of the RFK and MLK Jr. documents are required in 45 days.
Rex Bradford, president of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, which holds the largest online database of government records related to the murder of JFK, responded to the executive order here, stating that “this announcement is indeed welcome news. But to realize the goal set out, particularly in the case of the RFK and MLK assassinations, will require more than an order. It will need personnel, resources, a budget, time, and above all a sustained will to see it through.”
Bradford asks the following questions about the executive order:
How will this quick review period actually work?
What JFK records precisely are we talking about here?
What RFK and MLK assassination records exist and how will they be located?
Where do the files go when they are released?
What's next?
Many of these questions have been reported on at JFK Facts, or will be in upcoming stories. Here is a rundown of our coverage from a monumental week in the JFK story:
Peter Voskamp reported as the news broke on Thursday:
Even before the order to open the documents was signed, JFK Facts Editor Jefferson Morley was writing presciently on some of the complications facing Trump’s plans:
On Thursday evening, the virtual room was full as the JFK Facts Live podcast featured MSNBC analyst Fernand Amandi and a discussion of the question that has Washington wondering:
Chad Nagle dissected the flippant posts JFK grandson Jack Schlossberg made in response to Trump’s effort to open the documents:
Reflecting on President Trump taking office, Peter Voskamp remembered JFK’s inaugural address:
Voskamp also reported on a new book about U.S. presidents’ interactions with Mafia kingpins:
The clock is ticking down to the 15-day deadline for the JFK records’ declassification plan. Will Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, be confirmed in time to have a say in the plan? JFK Facts is watching.
From what I've heard- NBC reported that the EO leaves several loopholes which could still provide a way for CIA and other agencies to hinder or block entirely the actual release of documents. Have you heard of this?