Thousands of newly released documents related to the investigation into President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination have been made public, reigniting interest in one of the most scrutinized events in U.S. history.
While experts say the latest release under the Trump administration does not resolve all lingering questions, the documents provide further insight into how closely the CIA monitored Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, before the shooting.
1. CIA Surveillance of Oswald—But No Bombshell Revelations
The newly available records confirm that Oswald was a subject of significant CIA interest well before Kennedy’s assassination.
“Oswald was under deep CIA surveillance,” said Jefferson Morley, a journalist and editor of the JFK Facts blog. “This is the most exciting news around JFK records since the 1990s.”
Many of the released documents were previously available but with heavy redactions. The unredacted versions offer a clearer picture of Oswald’s movements, particularly his September 1963 trip to Mexico City, two months before the assassination.
Philip Shenon, author of a 2013 book on the assassination, noted that the CIA was monitoring Oswald during his visit. “There’s reason to believe he talked openly about killing Kennedy in Mexico City, and that people overheard him say that,” he told The Associated Press.
A 1975 CIA memo downplayed the agency’s knowledge of Oswald’s trip, stating that only three phone calls between him and a Soviet embassy guard were recorded—and Oswald identified himself in only one.
2. Intelligence Methods Revealed
The newly released files also shed light on CIA operations during the Cold War, including intelligence-gathering techniques and the agency’s influence on U.S. foreign policy.
One newly unredacted memo, written by Kennedy aide Arthur Schlesinger, details the CIA’s extensive presence in U.S. embassies—even in allied nations like France. Schlesinger’s note criticized the agency’s influence and warned Kennedy about its role in shaping foreign policy.
Additionally, the documents reveal Cold War-era surveillance techniques, such as fluoroscopic scanning—an early X-ray method used to detect hidden microphones. Another memo describes a system for secretly tagging and identifying tapped public phone booths using ultraviolet-sensitive paint.
One notable name in the files is James McCord, a former CIA officer who later became infamous for his role in the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
3. Old Conspiracy Theories Resurface
As with previous document releases, some online sources have used the new files to revive long-standing conspiracy theories, often misrepresenting their significance.
One viral claim centers on Gary Underhill, a former military intelligence officer who alleged that a group of rogue CIA agents was behind Kennedy’s assassination. This theory, first published in Ramparts magazine in 1967, gained renewed attention after photos of a seven-page CIA memo about Underhill circulated online.
However, the bulk of the memo was previously released in 2017, with only a few newly unredacted sentences in this latest batch. The theory itself is based on second-hand accounts and lacks concrete evidence.
Despite this, such theories continue to thrive, fueled by public skepticism and the enduring mystery surrounding Kennedy’s assassination.
4. Are the Files Completely Unredacted?
A 1992 law mandated the release of all JFK assassination-related records within 25 years, but it included national security exceptions. While successive administrations—including Trump’s and Biden’s—have declassified thousands of documents, some records remain redacted.
Ahead of this latest release, Trump claimed he instructed his staff “not to redact anything.” However, the new documents still contain some redactions, though experts acknowledge that the latest batch represents progress in government transparency.
Journalist Jefferson Morley believes additional classified files remain in the National Archives, as well as unreleased materials held by the CIA and FBI.
Even with more documents potentially forthcoming—including promised releases related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.—questions about JFK’s killing are unlikely to be fully resolved.
“Whenever there is an assassination, there will be debates, and to some degree, there will be conspiracy theories,” said Villanova University historian David Barrett. “That’s not going to change because of these or any other documents.”