US authorities have declassified over 10,000 pages of the case file on the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of the 35th US President John F. Kennedy. The documents have been posted on the website of the US National Archives.
“Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy, the American people will have the opportunity to see the results of the federal government investigation for the first time, thanks to the leadership and commitment of President Donald Trump to maximum transparency“, wrote Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in X after the release of the archives.
The son of the slain senator, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr., and Gabbard said in a joint statement that the documents, which were stored at the National Archives, were manually scanned and uploaded to the website. They said the files were being released with “minimal redactions for privacy reasons — including the removal of Social Security and taxpayer identification numbers.”
“Lifting the curtain on Robert Kennedy’s archives is a necessary step to restore trust in the American government,” his son said. “I thank President Trump for his courage and commitment to transparency.”
Gabbard said the search for the documents had uncovered another 50,000 pages of archived material that was still being prepared for release. She added that authorities would continue to search for other Kennedy-related documents.
In January, Trump signed an order to release classified materials on the assassinations of 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy, as well as his brother Robert Kennedy and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martin Luther King. On March 18, in accordance with his decree, the authorities released declassified materials on the case of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. To date, according to the agency, 99% of the approximately 5 million pages of documentation dedicated to this crime have been declassified.
Jordanian Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed Senator Kennedy on June 5, 1968, after he won the California primary for the Democratic presidential nomination. The killer then said that he did it in revenge for Kennedy's support for the supply of American military aircraft to Israel. For the crime he committed, Sirhan was initially sentenced to death in the gas chamber. However, due to the fact that the US Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional that year, Sirhan was sentenced to prison. Since 1975 Sirhan has repeatedly asked the authorities for early release, but his requests have always been rejected.