NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Donald Trump declassifies JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr assassination files

AFP
23 Jan, 2025 10:09 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Donald Trump's inauguration speech
Donald Trump delivered the speech after his inauguration as 47th President of the United States. Video / JCCIC
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • subtitles settings, opens subtitles settings dialog
    • subtitles off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Jury finds Erin Patterson guilty of murder

      UP NEXT:

      Autoplay in
      4
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Donald Trump delivered the speech after his inauguration as 47th President of the United States. Video / JCCIC
      NOW PLAYING • Donald Trump's inauguration speech
      Donald Trump delivered the speech after his inauguration as 47th President of the United States. Video / JCCIC

      United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order today declassifying files on the 1960s assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King jnr.

      “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House. “Everything will be revealed.”

      After signing the order, Trump passed the pen he used to an aide, saying “Give that to RFK jnr,” the President’s nominee to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

      “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump said. Photo / Getty Images
      “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump said. Photo / Getty Images

      The National Archives has released tens of thousands of records in recent years related to the November 22, 1963 assassination of President Kennedy but held thousands back, citing national security concerns.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      It said at the time of the latest release, in December 2022, that 97% of the Kennedy records — which total about 5 million pages — had now been made public.

      The Warren Commission that investigated the shooting of the charismatic 46-year-old President determined it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.

      Prior to Trump's executive order, it was said that 97% of the Kennedy records had been made public.
      Prior to Trump's executive order, it was said that 97% of the Kennedy records had been made public.

      That formal conclusion has done little, however, to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas, and the slow release of the Government files has added fuel to various conspiracy theories.

      President Joe Biden said at the time of the December 2022 release that a “limited” number of documents would continue to be held back at the request of unspecified “agencies”.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Previous requests to withhold documents have come from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

      Thousands of Kennedy assassination-related documents from the National Archives were released during Trump’s first term in office, but he also held some back on national security grounds.

      Conspiracy theories

      Kennedy scholars have said the documents still held by the archives are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories about the assassination of the 35th US President.

      Oswald was shot to death two days after killing Kennedy by a nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, as he was being transferred from the city jail.

      Hundreds of books and movies such as the 1991 Oliver Stone film JFK have fuelled the conspiracy industry, pointing the finger at Cold War rivals the Soviet Union or Cuba, the Mafia and even Kennedy’s Vice-President, Lyndon Johnson.

      Discover more

      • What's inside the secret JFK assassination files?
      • Trump vowed to release all remaining JFK files. What could they contain?
      • Mystery of missing JFK file solved
      • Wildest JFK Files: Strippers and surveillance

      President Kennedy’s younger brother, Robert, a former attorney-general, was assassinated in June, 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.

      Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born Jordanian, was convicted of his murder and is serving a life sentence in a prison in California.

      Martin Luther King jnr was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

      James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998 but King’s children have expressed doubts in the past that Ray was the assassin.

      -Agence France-Presse

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Save
        Share this article

      Latest from World

      World

      Gunman kills five in ‘mass shooting’ in Thai capital - police

      World

      'Defining moment': UN challenges Australia on climate ambitions

      World

      Head of China's Shaolin Temple removed over embezzlement claims


      Sponsored

      Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Recommended for you

      'Serious injuries': Person rushed to hospital after reported assault in Manukau
      New Zealand

      'Serious injuries': Person rushed to hospital after reported assault in Manukau

      Gunman kills five in ‘mass shooting’ in Thai capital - police
      World

      Gunman kills five in ‘mass shooting’ in Thai capital - police

      Couple set to lose $1.7m in property after commercial-scale cannabis bust
      New Zealand

      Couple set to lose $1.7m in property after commercial-scale cannabis bust

      'Defining moment': UN challenges Australia on climate ambitions
      World

      'Defining moment': UN challenges Australia on climate ambitions

      'Long may it continue': NZ events industry sees promising revival
      Entertainment

      'Long may it continue': NZ events industry sees promising revival

      'You were everything': Man who died from critical injuries in Rotorua remembered
      Rotorua Daily Post

      'You were everything': Man who died from critical injuries in Rotorua remembered



      Latest from World

      Gunman kills five in ‘mass shooting’ in Thai capital - police
      World

      Gunman kills five in ‘mass shooting’ in Thai capital - police

      Police are investigating possible links to ongoing border clashes with Cambodia.

      28 Jul 09:12 AM
      'Defining moment': UN challenges Australia on climate ambitions
      World

      'Defining moment': UN challenges Australia on climate ambitions

      28 Jul 07:41 AM
      Head of China's Shaolin Temple removed over embezzlement claims
      World

      Head of China's Shaolin Temple removed over embezzlement claims

      28 Jul 06:23 AM


      Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
      Sponsored

      Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

      06 Jul 09:47 PM

      NZ Herald
      • About NZ Herald
      • Meet the journalists
      • Newsletters
      • Classifieds
      • Help & support
      • Contact us
      • House rules
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of use
      • Competition terms & conditions
      • Our use of AI
      Subscriber Services
      • NZ Herald e-editions
      • Daily puzzles & quizzes
      • Manage your digital subscription
      • Manage your print subscription
      • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
      • Subscribe to Herald Premium
      • Gift a subscription
      • Subscriber FAQs
      • Subscription terms & conditions
      • Promotions and subscriber benefits
      NZME Network
      • The New Zealand Herald
      • The Northland Age
      • The Northern Advocate
      • Waikato Herald
      • Bay of Plenty Times
      • Rotorua Daily Post
      • Hawke's Bay Today
      • Whanganui Chronicle
      • Viva
      • NZ Listener
      • Newstalk ZB
      • BusinessDesk
      • OneRoof
      • Driven Car Guide
      • iHeart Radio
      • Restaurant Hub
      NZME
      • About NZME
      • NZME careers
      • Advertise with NZME
      • Digital self-service advertising
      • Book your classified ad
      • Photo sales
      • NZME Events
      • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
      TOP
      search by queryly Advanced Search