What President Trump Can Do to Fulfill His Campaign Promise on the JFK Files

Congress can help prevent a repeat of 2017-2018, when secrecy prevailed over the public interest

President Donald J. Trump shakes hands with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Friday, Apr. 6, 2018, to bid him farewell. McMaster had tendered his resignation from his post in March. (Credit: Joyce N. Boghosian/Public Domain)

During the 2024 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump stated on several occasions that he would release the rest of the withheld records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Based on what I learned from the documents produced in my lawsuit against the National Archives involving his decisions to twice postpone disclosure during his first term, Trump will need to establish a different process if he truly intends to release all of the information the government possesses about President Kennedy’s assassination.

Outstanding JFK Searches

Congress unanimously enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (JFK Act) to provide for the “expeditious public disclosure” of records held by the gover…