Former President Donald Trump promised to release all the files related to the assassination of President John Kennedy if he returns to the White House.
"This time, I'm going to do it," Trump said during an appearance on the "All-In" podcast, released Thursday.
In the podcast interview, Trump said he believed the CIA was behind Kennedy's assassination in 1963. He said he was encouraged by people to keep information on the assassination a secret during his first term.
"Well, this wasn't CIA that asked me, but I think CIA was probably behind it," Trump said. "They would['ve] preferred that I not release the rest of it."
The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 directed all government records related to the assassination be made available to the public by October 2017, 25 years after the act became law. Even though Trump and President Joe Biden have released thousands of records, some have been held back for national security reasons.
The Biden White House said 99% of the JFK assassination files have been released. But the remaining 1% have raised as many questions as the released documents have answered, such as how much the CIA knew about alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's activities in communist Cuba.
Trump initially pledged to release all of the documents during his first term, but in April 2018, said it would be delayed several years.
"I actually did do it. I released a lot, as you know. But when it came to the whole thing, I was hit by some people that work for me, who are great people that you would respect. They asked me not to do it,'" Trump said on the podcast. "And I'm saying, 'Why? Tell m[e] why?' and they said, 'Sir, I think it needs a little more time.'"
Trump said he would release the Kennedy files early in his second term.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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