Trump Executive Order on Assassinations Brings Mixed Feelings

Donald Trump delivered on his promise to issue an executive order to release all files the government has regarding the assassinations of RFK, JFK, and MLK.

While these files should have been released already, the reaction from family members was mixed, as this immediately became a political football.

Trump Signs Executive Order

Donald Trump has signed an order to declassify all remaining files from the three assassinations in this country’s history that remain a mystery. While the government has given us culprits, most of us still have a lot of questions, especially in the case of JFK.

After it was announced that Trump was ordering the files released from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Donald Trump stated, "That's a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years, for decades."

After Trump signed the order, he gave the pen from the signing to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of RFK, but someone who also happens to be disowned by his family.

I would have thought the families would have been happy to have the records released, but that was not necessarily the case.

The King Family

The King family is a bit of an enigma because there are people in the family close to Trump, as well as members of the King family who despise Trump.

In a joint statement, the family stated, “For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years. We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.”

I have stated in previous reports that I think giving all family members a week or two to review the records before being released is perfectly reasonable. We have waited this long, so allowing the families time to see the documents and issue a statement is more than reasonable.

King was assassinated by James Earl Ray in April of 1968. King was killed at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN.

The Kennedy Family

When people started to tout Donald Trump for releasing the documents, JFK’s grandson was the first to take a swipe at Trump, stating, "Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when he’s not here to punch back. There’s nothing heroic about it."

I disagree that this is a political prop, as this information should have already been released, and the American people have every right to know what the government knows about this assassination, especially because JFK’s was the most controversial of all of them.

RFK Jr. had a different response, stating, “I think it’s a great move because they need to have more transparency in our government, and he’s keeping his promise to have the government tell the truth to the American people about everything.”

While I am glad we will finally see these documents, I don’t expect to see any bombshells to be released. While I do not buy the magic bullet theory, I do believe that anything that would implicate the CIA or FBI has long since been scrubbed from the files. Even so, I think there will be some tidbits in there that will create some buzz and possibly create more questions than answers.