US releases new trove of secret Kennedy assassination files

A new batch of files, mostly secret CIA records, related to the November 1963 assassination of US president John F. Kennedy was released by the National Archives on Friday.

An overhead view of President John F. Kennedy's car in Dallas motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963,

An overhead view of President John F. Kennedy's car in Dallas motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963, Source: AAP

Nearly 680 records were made public including 553 never-before-seen files from the Central Intelligence Agency, which had objected to their release previously on national security grounds.

Among the CIA files released were detailed records, for example, of efforts to recruit Soviet diplomats serving in foreign missions, complete with transcripts of wiretaps.

The National Archives said the other documents published online were from the Justice Department, the Defense Department and a House committee which conducted an inquiry into Kennedy's November 22, 1963 assassination in Dallas, Texas.
The official Warren Commission which investigated the slaying of the charismatic 46-year-old president determined that it was carried out by a former Marine Corps sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.

The commission's formal conclusion that Oswald killed Kennedy has done little, however, to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind the murder of the 35th US president.

Hundreds of books and movies such as the 1991 Oliver Stone film "JFK" have fed 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.

Kennedy scholars have said the new documents are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories.

Friday's document released by the National Archives is the third this year and in compliance with a 1992 act of Congress that mandated that all Kennedy documents be released within 25 years.

President Donald Trump has given the FBI and CIA six months -- until April 26, 2018 -- to make their case for why remaining documents should not be made public.

The National Archives released 2,891 assassination documents on October 26 and 3,810 records on July 24.

Oswald defected to the Soviet Union in 1959 but returned to the United States in 1962.

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

Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AFP, SBS

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
US releases new trove of secret Kennedy assassination files | SBS News