The Trump administration released thousands of previously classified records on Tuesday related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While many documents about the JFK assassination have already been made public—including 13,000 files released under the Biden administration—the newly disclosed records included previously redacted information.

On Monday, Trump emphasized that “people have been waiting for decades” to access these 80,000 pages of records. Early in his presidency, he signed an executive order mandating the release of thousands of documents tied to the assassinations of JFK, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

The records were uploaded to the National Archives website on Tuesday evening. Researchers studying the JFK assassination may need time to review the 1,123 newly posted documents, which are listed only by record numbers without descriptions.

However, it’s unlikely the files will reveal major surprises, according to Tom Samoluk, a former deputy director of the Assassination Records Review Board. This government panel, established in the 1990s, was tasked with examining records related to the assassination. Samoluk and his team reviewed thousands of documents for public release between 1994 and 1998.

Based on his review, there’s nothing in the newly released records that challenges the long-standing conclusion about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination: that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone as the gunman responsible for Kennedy’s death. 

“The vast majority of the records we reviewed were released—some were kept classified in whole or in part—but if we’re talking about those, there’s no smoking gun,” Tom Samoluk, former deputy director of the Assassination Records Review Board, told CNN in a phone interview. 

He added, “If there had been anything critical to understanding the assassination, the Review Board would have released it in the mid-’90s. So we have a good sense of what these records contain.” 

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines stated that the newly released records include approximately 80,000 pages of previously classified documents published without redactions. However, some records remain withheld due to court seals, grand jury secrecy, or restrictions under the Internal Revenue Code. The National Archives is collaborating with the Justice Department to expedite the release of these documents. 

Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia and author of *The Kennedy Half-Century*, cautioned that the public might be disappointed by the lack of groundbreaking revelations. “We will learn things,” Sabato said, “but it may not be about the Kennedy assassination itself. People expecting to crack the case after 61 years will likely be bitterly disappointed.” 

Kennedy’s assassination has long been a source of conspiracy theories, some of which Trump has echoed. This is partly why the Assassination Records Review Board, which Samoluk helped lead, was created—to evaluate which records could be made public. 

Samoluk acknowledged he hasn’t seen all the records that could potentially be released. For example, last month the FBI discovered about 2,400 new documents related to the assassination following Trump’s executive order. Additionally, other agencies may hold unreleased records that were not reviewed by the Review Board in the 1990s. 

He noted that even if the remaining records don’t reveal major secrets, they could still provide valuable context, such as details from the CIA about Oswald’s movements before the November 22, 1963, assassination. 

In 2023, the National Archives completed its review of classified documents related to the assassination, with 99% of the records now publicly available, according to CNN. President Joe Biden confirmed that the archivist had finished the review and released all authorized documents, meeting a previously set deadline. 

Despite past promises from presidents, including Trump, to release all records, agencies like the CIA, Pentagon, and State Department have withheld some documents. Their justification centers on protecting the identities of confidential sources who may still be alive and safeguarding intelligence methods. 

During Trump’s first term, he agreed not to release the full set of records at the request of national security agencies. However, on the 2024 campaign trail, Trump has pledged to release the remaining document