US President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jan 23) issued an executive order to declassify the last remaining secret files tied to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, his younger brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 

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"This is the big one," Trump said while signing the order at the White House. "A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades."

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"Everything will be revealed," he vowed.

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He then handed the pen he used to sign the order to an aide, instructing, "Give that to RFK Jr." 

RFK Jr, former President John F. Kennedy's nephew, is Trump's nominee to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

What does the order mean?

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As per an AFP report, Trump's order requires a "full and complete release," of the documents, removing redactions that have kept parts of the files hidden. During his first term as president, Trump, in 2017, authorised partial release of the documents.

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Over the years, the US National Archives has tens of thousands of records on JFK's November 22, 1963 assassination. Yet thousands of documents of the five million pages long records were withheld because of national security concerns. 

"It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay," the order reads.  

Why now?

The official explanation that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone has failed to satisfy many. Theories instead suggest a sinister plot behind the assassination of the 46-year-old president and even speculate about the involvement of the CIA.  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, JFK's nephew and RFK's son, has been a vocal critic of the official narratives. In 2023, he accused the CIA of involvement in his uncle's murder and also raised questions about his father's assassination in 1968.

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He claimed there was "overwhelming evidence the CIA was involved" in JFK's death and that "very convincing" evidence suggested that the agency was also behind the assassination of RFK.

RFK Sr was killed while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born Jordanian, was convicted, but RFK Jr has expressed doubts about whether Sirhan acted alone or even at all.  

Will the truth come out?

Kennedy scholars, as per AFP, believe the remaining files are unlikely to offer any bombshell new revelations.

(With inputs from agencies)