Executive Order 14176

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Executive Order 14176
Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Seal of the President of the United States.svg
Type Executive order
Number14176
PresidentDonald Trump
SignedJanuary 23, 2025
Federal Register details
Federal Register
document number		2025-02116  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Publication dateJanuary 31, 2025  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Summary
Orders the declassification of documents relating to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Executive Order 14176, titled "Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.", is an executive order signed by Donald Trump on January 23, 2025, to declassify records about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Contents

Background

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. His younger brother Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, having been shot on June 5, 1968, and dying the day after. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. [1] These assassinations have attracted several conspiracy theories, which have been exacerbated by the fact that several documents have remained classified. [1] [2]

Earlier declassifications

A law signed during the presidency of George H. W. Bush ordered the declassification of all records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy in October 2017. When this time arrived during Donald Trump's first presidency, several documents were declassified; however, others remained classified. In 2021 President Joe Biden signed a presidential memorandum which created deadlines for more declassifications of documents about the assassination, which led to over 13,000 documents being released. [3]

While Trump stated in his first presidency that he intended to declassify the remaining classified records, he later abstained from doing so due to appeals relating to national security reasons by the CIA and FBI. [4] Subsequently, he later promised again during his 2024 presidential campaign to declassify the remaining documents. [5]

Provisions

The executive order says that the Director of National Intelligence will, within 15 days, develop a plan to release the records concerning the assassination of JFK, and develop plans within 45 days for RFK and King. [5]

Signing

Trump told his aide that the pen he used to sign the executive order is to be given to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of RFK and nephew of JFK, and Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. [5] Trump said "that's a big one" and "everything will be revealed" when referring to the executive order. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Mangan, Dan (23 January 2025). "Trump executive order declassifies JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr. assassination files". CNBC. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Trump says ordered declassification of remaining JFK assassination records". The Independent. 23 January 2025. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "National Archives Releases JFK Assassination Records". National Archives . 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "Trump boasted he'd open all JFK files, but now says he can't". AP News . 26 April 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 "Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records". The Washington Post . 23 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Trump signs order to declassify JFK, MLK and RFK assassination files". ABC News. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
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