Fact Check: "President Donald Trump ordered the release of documents relating to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. in April 2023."
What We Know
The claim states that President Donald Trump ordered the release of documents related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. in April 2023. However, the timeline of events does not support this assertion. In fact, President Trump signed an Executive Order on January 23, 2025, which directed the declassification of records concerning these assassinations (source-1). This order established a policy for the full and complete release of records related to the JFK assassination within 15 days and for the RFK and MLK records within 45 days.
Additionally, the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 mandated that all records related to the JFK assassination be released by October 26, 2017, unless a presidential certification justified continued withholding (source-3). President Biden had issued certifications delaying the release of these records in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but there is no record of Trump ordering any release in April 2023 (source-1).
Analysis
The claim is factually incorrect as it misrepresents the timeline and the actions taken by President Trump. The Executive Order that mandated the release of the assassination records was signed in January 2025, not April 2023. This discrepancy is crucial as it indicates that the claim is based on a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the events surrounding the declassification of these documents.
The sources used to support the claim do not provide any evidence that Trump ordered the release of documents in April 2023. Instead, they confirm that he acted in January 2025, following a prolonged period of delays under previous administrations. The reliability of the sources is high, as they include official government documents and reputable news outlets reporting on the executive order (source-1, source-3).
Conclusion
The claim that "President Donald Trump ordered the release of documents relating to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. in April 2023" is False. The executive action regarding the release of these documents occurred in January 2025, not in April 2023, which is a significant detail that undermines the accuracy of the claim.
Sources
- President Donald J. Trump Orders Declassification of JFK ...
- JFK Assassination Records - 2025 Documents Release
- Executive Order 14176βDeclassification of Records ...
- Records Related to the Assassination of Senator Robert F. ...
- Director Gabbard and Secretary Kennedy Statement on ...
- Executive Order 14176
- JFK, RFK and MLK assassination files
- RFK Assassination: What Newly Released Files Reveal