WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government on Thursday released several thousand secret files on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, but withheld others on national security grounds.
In a statement, the National Archives said that on orders from President Donald Trump, it had released 2,891 records related to the November 22, 1963 slaying of JFK in Dallas, Texas.
Kennedy scholars have said the documents released Thursday are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories about the assassination.
Trump said in a memorandum he had agreed to hold back for further review some records relating to the killing.
“Executive departments and agencies have proposed to me that certain information should continue to be redacted because of national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns,” Trump said.
“I have no choice — today — but to accept those redactions rather than allow potentially irreversible harm to our nation’s security,” he said.
Administration officials who requested anonymity said the majority of those requests had come from the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
© Agence France-Presse