Debriefing the Declassified Kennedy Assassination Files

“RFK must be disposed of like his brother was.” 

“RFK must die.”

“My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more of an unshakable obsession.”

Those were some of the statements Sirhan made to his garbage collector, policemen, and other detectives on the case for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. 

From January to March, President Trump released upwards of ten thousand files regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. He has already ordered the release of MLK’s assassination files as well. Trump is using this as a way to push his promise of maximum transparency. Most people think the documents will not reveal any big developments.

Robert Francis Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925, and assassinated on June 6, 1968. He is the brother of former presidents John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. He served as the U.S. Attorney General (1961–1964): Under his brother JFK and then under Lyndon B. Johnson. 

He was tough on organized crime and a strong supporter of the civil rights movement. He was also a U.S. Senator from New York (1965–1968) and advocated for social justice, anti-poverty programs, and civil rights.

In a new file, a 1968 memo was found of an FBI report supposedly saying that Sirhan had fallen from a horse. After that incident, his family reported that a change had fallen upon him. Additionally, new reports also find that he frequently conversed about his plans with people who were close to him, including a garbage collector. The garbageman told Sirhan that he was planning on voting for RFK because of his plans to help Black people. Sirhan responded that he didn’t agree (in more animated words).

The administration hopes that by releasing the files, more people can figure out exactly what had happened. For example, conspiracies about how Sirhan did not act alone, including one about a woman in a polka-dot dress shouting she killed RFK, are still unanswered. 

Robert Kennedy Jr., the current United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, has supported Sirhan’s request for parole. He backs the claim that Sirhan did not act alone.

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, and was assassinated on November 22, 1963. He was the 35th President of the United States (1961–1963) which made him the youngest elected president and the first Catholic president. 

He was also a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1953–1960) who gained national recognition and built his platform before running for president.

While the files released did not tell anything notable about who killed JFK (most experts believe it is still Lee Harvey Oswald). However, a news article from the Harvard Gazette finds that the 77,000 pages declassified by the Trump administration give insight into what was going on with the CIA during things like the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, etc. For example, the CIA was involved in interfering with elections not only in Latin America but in Finland as well. The documents show that over 40-50% of the entire government was working with the CIA in some way.

Additionally, the pages also tell a story of just how involved Cuban exiles were in military ploys like Operation Mongoose (an attempt to overthrow Castro). There were over 14 Cuban agents in the US government and many were on high payrolls.

Like RFK, there are lots of questions left unanswered. Why was Oswald in Mexico City before then? How connected was Oswald with the USSR? Some of these questions have created an environment ripe for conspiracy theories. Hopefully, they will get answered in the coming months.

About Post Author

Ethan Wu ('27)

cwang26@mlschools.org

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