Yesterday Donald Trump Again Promised To Release The Classified Information Concerning The JFK Assassination As Well As The Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Ones. Let's Power Rank The Theories
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday he would release classified documents in the coming days related to the assassinations of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump, who returns to the White House on Monday, promised on the campaign trail to release classified intelligence and law enforcement files on the 1963 assassination of JFK, as America's 35th president is widely known.
He had made a similar promise during his 2017 to 2021 term, and he did in fact release some documents related to JFK's 1963 slaying. But he ultimately bowed to pressure from the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and kept a significant chunk of documents under wraps, citing national security concerns.
The Donald once again says he's definitely, totally, 100% this time going to release those long-promised files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr...
And I'm sorry guys, I know this is really going to rile up the comment section, but I gotta throw a flag on this one.
We’ve heard these sweet nothings before, and each time, we ended up with the emotional roller coaster of, “Yes, I’ll show you the files. Umm actually, never mind, national security, sorry.”
You can't fucking tell us you're going to tell us who killed Kennedy, then get the opportunity to do so, then change your mind, then wait 4 years, almost get thrown in jail, then almost get your head blown off (twice) by your enemies, then tell us you're really going to tell us who killed Kennedy. How can we be expected to believe that's actually ever going to happen?
There's an old saying…
But supposedly, things are different this time around. And if there's anybody whose word you can take to the bank, it's DJT's.
But all jokes aside, I do believe Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s story 1000%
Under the terms of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (shout out Bill Clinton), all government files related to the assassination were supposed to be made public no later than October 26, 2017. 25 years after the law was enacted.
But both Trump and Biden pussied out.
The Act allows the president "to postpone certain releases beyond 2017 if there were national security concerns or other compelling reasons."
Both guys played that card as reasons for not telling us, the people of the United States of America, what happened to one of the most promising leaders in the country's history. Because, well, national security.
Tell me, what on Earth could be a worse threat to "National security", or what those in control of the nation's security deem it to be, than the intelligence agency of this country murdering the man elected to the highest office in the land, (in cold blood), because he posed a threat to their power and control?
Trump, in his signature style, decided to tease these hush-hush government files “in the coming days” during his big victory rally in D.C. yesterday. And sent social media humming.
But, one might recall that during his first term, Trump made a cameo as the national archivist who drastically redacted a chunk of JFK-related intel to protect said “national security.” This time, though, we’re supposed to believe we’ll finally get the director’s cut and he really means it.
I fuckin hope so dude.
For decades, those of us who passionately believed that the CIA knocked off JFK- and then took care of his brother, Robert Kennedy, just to tie up any pesky loose ends, were called the dreaded "conspiracy theorists".
(Fun fact - I remember back before I started writing myself here at this site, reading (and agreeing) with Jerry's blogs, religiously. Except for when it came to anything he wrote about pertaining to the JFK assassination. And as an Irish Catholic from Boston, he wrote quite a damn lot about the subject. Being the crazy conspiracy theorist that I am- the official narrative never, ever, ever, lined up to me. Police Work 101 says that when somebody is murdered, and you're looking for suspects, the first question you ask is, "Who stood to gain from this?". For Jerry Thornton, and many others, that man was Lee Harvey Oswald. A loner, former marine was the patsy lone gunman. (Ever curious how anytime an assassination attempt or terrorist attack occurs, it's always a "lone wolf", acting alone?) It used to blow my fucking mind. It's fucking insulting how dumb the United States government thinks we are. But then, one day, a couple of years ago, Jerry saw the light! In November of 2023, he penned the blog of all Kennedy Assassination head-scratcher blogs. And he did a 180.
Welcome to the party, Old Balls.
Back to this blog though. Trump has also promised to release FBI records about Dr. King’s assassination.
Finally, we might get to see more detail about the bureau’s infamous round-the-clock, phone-tapped, residence-bugged surveillance of King. Or we might just get redacted pages with black lines, black lines, black lines. Because nobody finds a way around its own laws like the people who make them.
Trump also assured RFK Jr. months ago that he would be the one to tell him what has been kept a secret regarding his father's murder for years and years his entire life.
In honor of the true story HOPEFULLY becoming public record, let's break down some of the more popular "conspiracy theories" so that we can soon look back at all the hypotheses we scoffed at and called insane one day and see which one was correct.
#1 - It was the C.I.A.
To answer my own point up above about Police Work 101: Investigating A Murder - section 01:01 states that you have to ask the question who stood to gain the most from this.
That answer is unequivocally- The Central Intelligence Agency.
One of the biggest red flag wearing, giant elephants in the room holding the smoking gun facts surrounding the assassination was that just one month after JFK’s assassination in 1963, kindly old former president, and the fucking creator of the agency, Harry S. Truman rolled up his sleeves, strode into the ring, and took a big swing at America’s favorite cloak-and-dagger agency. Did he specifically say, “The CIA whacked JFK, and here’s the proof, folks!”? No. But he sure hammered home that they had strayed from their original mission, were stirring up trouble worldwide, and might have somehow contributed to the shady speculation swirling around JFK’s murder.
Harry S. Truman Library and Archive - Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which was a landmark piece of legislation that reorganized the U.S. military and intelligence services in the aftermath of World War II. This act led to the creation of the CIA, replacing the World War II-era Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Truman believed that the U.S. needed a centralized intelligence agency to coordinate and oversee intelligence gathering during the emerging Cold War with the Soviet Union.
According to Truman, the CIA started with the innocent intention of being the president’s “quiet intelligence arm”. You know, just collecting info, studying foreign threats, that sort of thing. They were intended to be paper-pushing desk jockeys.
They were supposed to produce reports, pass them along to the White House, and probably hold the occasional Tupperware party. Not roam the fucking globe toppling governments and playing cloak-and-dagger.
But sometime between its inception and the 1960s, the CIA apparently developed a taste for advanced skulduggery (or, in Truman’s words, “operational and policy-making duties”).
Truman was not having it. In that December 22, 1963 Washington Post op-ed, exactly a month after the Dallas tragedy, he more or less said, “America, I’ve been disturbed by what’s going on behind the doors at Langley. We need to put these secret guys back in the box before something else "explosive happens.”
A mere thirty days had passed since President Kennedy got assassinated and Lee Harvey Oswald conveniently became the “lone gunman” in official accounts (never mind the swirl of personal accounts about multiple shooters, shady looking men on the grassy knoll, and the whole suspicious bullet that apparently did the tango inside JFK’s limo).
Soviet news outlets had already started fanning the flames, implying the whole thing looked real fishy. Even for them. (Let that one sink in)
The official government line? “Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Mourn your poor handsome young president and believe what you're told.”
And there was ex-President Truman, basically telling people: “The CIA might be going beyond its boundaries, and that’s, uh, not good.”
ENTER SCENE: Allen Dulles
Allen Dulles was the CIA director who’d famously been fired by JFK after that whole little Bay of Pigs misunderstanding. But that didn’t keep him from quietly trying to handle PR nightmares for the CIA after Kennedy’s death.
When Dulles caught wind that Truman’s Washington Post op-ed was basically a call to put a muzzle on the CIA, he hopped on a plane to Missouri like some traveling salesman peddling his snake oil. Legend has it (via CIA veterans and researchers) that Dulles tried his darnedest to cajole Truman into recanting. Something like:
Dulles (sweetly): “Now, Harry, you couldn’t possibly have meant the CIA’s operational powers should be ended. That’s all nonsense.”
Truman (sternly): “Yes. Yes, I did mean that. Now kindly see yourself out.”
Dulles then apparently went Full Spin Mode in a memo for the CIA’s general counsel, claiming Truman had expressed astonishment and insisted his op-ed was “all wrong,” which is basically the ancient bureaucratic version of “I literally made this up, please believe it.” Truman, however, fired back with a letter to Look magazine reaffirming his stance.
Truman later doubled-down on his stance in another op-ed, where the core of his rant was that the CIA was dabbling in dirty “operational” missions abroad instead of just collecting intel as it was intended to. And a spy agency that effectively self-directs foreign policy? That’s probably not what the Constitution had in mind.
Then there is the whole part (that's recently been confirmed) that the CIA blatantly lied toe The Warren Commission about Oswald's involvement and role in The Bay of Pigs fiasco.
Oswald was not just some regular marine. He was a CIA operative who "had secretly been involved in operations to undermine US supporters of the Cuban leader in the summer of 1963." He was also the perfect patsy to blackmail recruit for the mission. And then set him also up to be whacked to cover up your tracks.
So the C.I.A. is basically at -100,000,000 on the board for good reason. JFK reportedly wanted to “splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces” after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, which would be a great motive for a “rogue agency” scenario, and the ones controlling it to take out their biggest threat. THEN CIA Director Allen Dulles, the same guy who was fired by JFK, then somehow ended up on the Warren Commission investigating his fired boss’s assassination. “Totally normal,” the Agency assures us to this day, and calls us crazy for questioning it.
#2 - The Mafia did it.
Some people believe this one because the Kennedys, especially Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, were cracking down on organized crime like they were auditioning for The Sopranos.
It was also no secret that JFK had "dalliances" with women linked to the mafia and was all chummy with Sinatra’s Rat Pack. Jack Ruby (the guy who shot Oswald) had some mob connections, so that angle gets a big neon arrow pointed at it.
But not as big as the part concerning the 1960 presidential race.
The theory goes that Joe Kennedy struck a deal with the Chicago Mafia, particularly with the notorious Sam Giancana and his associates, to ensure JFK’s victory over Richard Nixon. Why? Because Kennedy needed Illinois to win, and Chicago was the key battleground.
At the time, Chicago was essentially under the control of the mob. The theory holds that Giancana and other figures within the city’s criminal underworld helped “deliver” the vote in Kennedy’s favor, and in return, they expected some political favors once the Kennedys took office.
It’s no secret that that election was a close one, and Illinois was a key state. JFK won Illinois by fewer than 9,000 votes, and many have speculated that this win was influenced by mob-controlled precincts where votes could be “adjusted” via voter fraud.
You'd think, in return, they'd get taken care of. But as soon as JFK got into the White House, RFK (Robert F. Kennedy, his brother) took over as Attorney General and went on a rampage against the mob. All those backroom deals? Gone. Instead, Bobby started cracking down on organized crime like a cop with a chip on his shoulder and a vendetta.
The theory goes, once RFK started going full throttle on the mob, Sam Giancana and other mob bosses thought, “Wait a minute… we got you elected, and now you’re not just turning your back on us, but you're coming after us?"
#3- The CIA and the Mafia: Tag-Team Edition.
Everybody loves a buddy-cop movie. And the CIA famously tried to collaborate with mob figures (like Sam Giancana) in the early 1960s to assassinate Fidel Castro. If they teamed up once, why not for a bigger, more domestic job?
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much,” says the old adage. Usually, it’s a line about teamwork in an office context, but sure, it could also apply to orchestrating a presidential hit. If you like your conspiracies extra conspiratorial, you can’t do better than a CIA–Mob collab.
Combining two sinister, clandestine organizations is like peak conspiracy synergy: you get espionage smarts plus gangster's muscle.
#4- Lyndon B. Johnson was involved.
LBJ was next in line, and he was rumored to be extremely ambitious. Like “will do anything short of tap dancing on a rival’s grave” ambitious.
Some people say Johnson was under political pressure from various scandals and saw an opportunity to ascend to the presidency quickly via taking out the man above him. Johnson had been closely edged out by Kennedy in the primaries and was only chosen as his running mate for strategic reasons to help Kennedy win the Southern vote. There was no love lost between the two.
There’s also a suspicious photo of LBJ winking on Air Force One just after being sworn in, allegedly. Conspiracists claim that was an “I got away with it” wink. Skeptics say that’s just how LBJ blinked… with flair.
#5 - The Communists did it.
These are starting to get so ridiculous it's a surprise the government didn't try harder to push these on us as the truth.
This theory goes that Lee Harvey Oswald spent time in the Soviet Union, professing his love for Marxism and cheap housing.
And 1963 was still the swirling apex of the Cold War. Blaming the commies was basically the default setting for anything that went wrong in America. (Oh shit, you stubbed your toe? “Probably the Soviets.")
The woke Soviet media outlets quickly speculated the assassination was a U.S. government hit job, but Americans, in turn, suspected the Kremlin might have had a hand in orchestrating it. (Perfect misdirection for the C.I.A.)
If you’re a conspiracy buff who loves Cold War intrigue, this is the box set for you. Cloak-and-dagger Soviet agents teaming up with or manipulating Oswald to sow chaos in the U.S. Gold.
#6- Israel’s Intelligence Agency
Some people claim JFK wanted to limit Israeli nuclear ambitions, which might have upset certain folks at Mossad. Where there’s any high-level geopolitical tension, there’s a rumor that “Mossad was behind it." Like a universal scapegoat button that gets pressed by certain conspiratorial circles.
Do I believe the Mossad had its claws into Jeffrey Epstein and that he was a high-ranking agent of theirs collecting blackmail on the most powerful people in the world to leverage against them? Yes, I think he probably was.
Do I believe the Mossad orchestrated the biggest hit in the 20th century? No, I don't.
But, if you’re going to suspect every other major intelligence agency, you can’t leave out the Mossad right? This angle often presumes a labyrinthine web of diplomatic double-crosses. But the question remains: Why would Israel risk the blowback of assassinating a U.S. president? If they wanted to preserve a relationship with America, maybe ordering the biggest hit in 20th-century world politics wouldn't have been the best conversation starter.
As for RFK- I mentioned it above but only two of these theories make sense for JFK's brother as well, when you also consider the fact that his assassination occurred so suspiciously and so shortly after his brothers. #1, and #2.
As for Martin Luther King Jr., I think my favorite philosopher George Carlin said it best-
Did you ever stop to thnk about all the people we kill? They're always people who tell us to live together in harmony and try to love one another: Jesus, Ghandi, Lincoln, John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, John Lennon. They all said: 'Try to live together peacefully.' BAM! Right in the fuckin head! Apparently we're not ready for that!
The more and more our brains and critical thinking skills evolve as a species (it was really fucking hard to just type that out with a straight face), the clearer the picture becomes about who killed John Fitzgerald Kennedy. And why.
Even some of JFK’s family (like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) are convinced the CIA had a hand in it all. Yet each new document dump only fosters more questions, and compounds the biggest one - "why are they so afraid to tell us the truth?"
Here's hoping that we finally find out. And soon.
The words of this blog are those of Dante and Dante alone and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else