Next week could prove to be a seismic event in our nation's history, because Donald Trump just announced he will release documents our intelligence agencies have fought fiercely to keep secret relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The documents have been kept under wraps since JFK's assassination November 22, 1963. JFK's successor, Lyndon Johnson, created the Warren Commission to determine if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The Commission turned a blind eye to witnesses, documents and film suggesting a conspiracy.
The Warren Commission issued a 26 volume report, with thousands of documents, but the CIA and other agencies fought to keep thousands of documents secret, citing national security. The law says the remaining documents must be released by October 26 unless there are security reasons to keep them secret. Our intelligence agencies are still lobbying for secrecy.
There's a theory as to why these documents have been secret. JFK was led astray by the CIA over the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in the first year of his presidency. Kennedy hated the CIA for the embarrassment and diminished its role in the world of intelligence. There are some who believe Oswald had ties to the CIA and the agency might have been happy to get a new, less hostile president.