Political Shockwave: JFK Assassination Files Finally Unveiled After Decades of Secrecy
Sixty years after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the U.S. government has finally released a trove of classified documents, and if you were expecting a smoking gun, prepare to be underwhelmed. The National Archives has made approximately 80,000 pages of records available, though not all are digitized yet, because apparently, the 21st century hasn’t fully arrived in Maryland. This long-awaited release comes after years of political ping-pong between Presidents Trump and Biden, both of whom promised transparency but delivered delays. Trump initially teased the release during his first term, while Biden later released some—but not all—of the remaining files. It’s almost as if both administrations realized that unearthing decades-old secrets might not be the PR win they hoped for.
The documents pertain not only to JFK’s 1963 assassination but also to the killings of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., both of whom were murdered in 1968. These three tragedies, occurring within five years of each other, left an indelible mark on American history. Yet, despite the hype, many historians and insiders doubt the files will reveal anything groundbreaking. RFK Jr., who has made a career out of peddling conspiracy theories, expressed frustration in 2021, accusing both Trump and Biden of dragging their feet. “It just makes people think that government lies,” he told PEOPLE, which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly a hot take.
JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, took a more measured approach, warning conspiracy theorists that the release would likely disappoint. “The truth is a lot sadder than the myth,” he wrote, dismissing the declassification as a political stunt. And he’s not wrong—using a national tragedy as a prop for political theater is about as classy as it sounds.
So, what do we actually learn from this release? Mostly that bureaucracy moves slower than a snail on sedatives, and that the allure of conspiracy theories often outweighs the reality of mundane government inefficiency. The files may not rewrite history, but they do remind us that transparency is a rare commodity in Washington.
Class dismissed. Try not to let this newfound wisdom go to waste.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine
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