As of March 18, 2025, the U.S. government has officially released over 64,000 pages of previously classified documents. The release of the files, mandated by Executive Order 14176 and signed by President Donald Trump in January, are a part of the broader JFK Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. This required that all assassination-related materials be made public by 2017 unless doing so posed “identifiable harm.” Multiple administrations took advantage of this and delayed full release, citing national security concerns. With this year’s document dump, researchers now have access to the most comprehensive collection of JFK assassination-related files ever made available.
One of the most significant revelations in the 2025 release is that Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s alleged assassin, was under surveillance by the CIA far earlier than previously acknowledged. The files show that the agency maintained an intelligence file on Oswald starting in 1959, when he defected to the Soviet Union, and had continued monitoring him up through 1963. In particular, there are several documents detailing Oswald’s time in Mexico City, where he reportedly visited both the Cuban and Soviet embassies. These trips, previously shrouded in mystery, now appear to have been closely tracked by the CIA.
The files also reveal new insights into the internal operations and dysfunctions of U.S. intelligence agencies at the time. A testimony from former CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton describes a breakdown in communication between the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service. Interestingly, one internal memo states that Oswald’s re-entry into the United States from the Soviet Union in 1962 was not properly flagged as a security concern, despite his pro-communist leanings. Other documents show the CIA failed to alert the FBI or Secret Service about Oswald’s interactions with pro-Castro groups and possible threats to the President.
Another major aspect of the release is the examination of communication between U.S. agencies and foreign intelligence services. In the newly declassfiied docunents, communications between the CIA and British MI6, Israeli Mossad and Soviet KGB, confirm that Oswald’s name had surfaced in international intelligence circles before the assassination. However, these foreign agencies were left out of U.S. contingency planning and threat assessment regarding Kennedy’s Dallas visit.
Public reaction to the release has been convaluted. While many historians have praised the transparency, they also acknowledging that key questions remain unanswered. While the files clarify that the CIA was watching Oswald, there is also a gap in explaining how there was such institutional failure in protecting the country from him. While this release represents a landmark moment in U.S. historical transparency, some files remain partially redacted or withheld due to ongoing national security concerns fueling continued suspicion among researchers and the general public.
The release is unlikely to end the debate over what really happened in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963. However, it provides a more complete picture of the climate, failed infrastructure and missed warning signs that surrounded one of America’s darkest days. As historians and scholars begin sifting through the massive amounts of information, new theories are likely to emerge, ensuring that the search for the full truth behind the JFK assassination continues into the future.