Washington, United States:

US President Donald Trump ordered the declassification Thursday of the last secret files on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.

Trump signed an executive order that will also release documents on the 1960s assassinations of JFK’s younger brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

“That’s big one, huh? A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House.

“Everything will be revealed.”

After signing the order, Trump passed the pen he used to an aide, saying “Give that to RFK Jr.,” JFK’s nephew and the current president’s nominee to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The order Trump signed requires the “full and complete release” of the JFK files, without redactions that he accepted back in 2017 when releasing most of the documents.

“It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” the order said.

Trump had previously promised to release the last of the files, most recently at his inauguration on Monday.

‘Overwhelming evidence’

The US National Archives has released tens of thousands of records in recent years related to the November 22, 1963 assassination of president Kennedy but held thousands back, citing national security concerns.

It said at the time of the latest large-scale release, in December 2022, that 97 percent of the Kennedy records — which total five million pages — had now been made public.

The Warren Commission that investigated the shooting of the charismatic 46-year-old president determined that it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.

But that formal conclusion has done little to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas, and the slow release of the government files has added fuel to various conspiracy theories.

Trump’s move is partly a gesture to one of the most prominent backers of those conspiracies — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. himself.

RFK Jr. said in 2023 there was “overwhelming evidence the CIA was involved” in his uncle JFK’s murder and “very convincing” evidence the agency was also behind the 1968 assassination of his own father, Robert F. Kennedy.

The former attorney general was killed while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born Jordanian, was convicted of his murder.

Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. was rewarded with the health nod in Trump’s cabinet for dropping his independent presidential bid and backing the Republican, but he faces a rocky nomination process.

Conspiracy theories

Thousands of Kennedy assassination-related documents from the National Archives were released during Trump’s first term in office, but he also held some back on national security grounds.

Then-president Joe Biden said at the time of the December 2022 documents release that a “limited” number of files would continue to be held back at the request of unspecified “agencies.”

Previous requests to withhold documents have come from the CIA and FBI.

Kennedy scholars have said the documents still held by the archives are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories about the assassination of the 35th US president.

Oswald, who had at one point defected to the Soviet Union, was shot to death two days after killing Kennedy by a nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, as he was being transferred from the city jail.

Hundreds of books and movies such as the 1991 Oliver Stone film “JFK” have fueled the conspiracy industry, pointing the finger at Cold War rivals Russia or Cuba, the Mafia and even Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon Johnson.

Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998 but King’s children have expressed doubts in the past that Ray was the assassin.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Conspiracy theories about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy have floated around the fringes of US politics for decades. Now his nephew Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could bring them into the heart of the White House.

Kennedy — the vaccine skeptic tapped by President-elect Donald Trump as his health secretary — has been pushing for his daughter-in-law to be the deputy director of the CIA, US media reports say.

The US news outlet Axios said that part of Kennedy’s motivation for getting Amaryllis Fox Kennedy the job was to prove his belief that the intelligence agency had a role in the shooting of his uncle in Dallas in November 1963.

It’s a move that has reportedly angered some US lawmakers — but which also shows the extraordinary influence that the man dubbed RFK Jr. already has in Trump’s transition team.

As with his views on vaccines, autism, Covid-19 and fluoride in water, Kennedy’s ideas about the assassination are far from the mainstream.

In a radio interview in 2023, RFK Jr. said there was “overwhelming evidence the CIA was involved” in JFK’s murder, adding that it was “beyond a reasonable doubt at this point.”

That runs counter to the findings of the Warren Commission that investigated the shooting, which found it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.

Kennedy said in the same interview that there was “very convincing” but “circumstantial” evidence the agency was also behind the 1968 assassination of his own father, Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president.

Palestinian immigrant Sirhan Sirhan, who was seized immediately at the scene of the shooting, was convicted of the killing and remains in jail.

‘Big discussion’

But a belief in conspiracy theories has never been a bar to a job with Trump, the great disruptor of US politics.

Indeed, in RFK Jr.’s case, Trump appears to have embraced it.

The former environmental lawyer made his own White House run as an independent earlier this year before throwing his support behind Trump.

Trump rewarded him by nominating him for his dream job as Health and Human Services secretary — although Kennedy faces potentially rocky confirmation hearings.

Since then, Kennedy has become one of Trump’s key courtiers.

After the November 5 election, he was photographed on Trump’s plane eating a McDonald’s meal with tech tycoon Elon Musk and Trump’s son Don Jr. — despite Kennedy’s own campaign against junk food.

RFK Jr. was at Trump’s side again on Thursday as the president-elect rang the New York Stock Exchange bell to celebrate being named Time magazine’s person of the year for a second time.

Asked by Time what he would do if RFK Jr. moved to end childhood vaccination programs in the United States, Trump said he would be having a “big discussion” with Kennedy.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the lawyer helping Kennedy pick officials for the Trump administration had previously petitioned US regulators to revoke approval for the polio vaccine, which scientists say has saved more than a million lives and prevented perhaps 20 million cases of childhood paralysis.

‘Stopped at all costs’

With Trump now reportedly considering Amaryllis Fox Kennedy for the CIA job, it seems Kennedy’s other left-field theories could also get a major airing.

Trump himself has promised to release the last of the previously classified files on the Kennedy assassination that are held in the US National Archives.

The appointment of Fox Kennedy — who is married to RFK Jr.’s son and served as her father-in-law’s campaign manager — would be controversial for other reasons too.

In 2019 she published a memoir about her time in the CIA but reportedly did not seek advance clearance from the government.

Fox Kennedy hit back at reports that some lawmakers and former intelligence officials oppose her getting the role.

“A Kennedy at CIA, they fret,” she wrote on X. “A DJT (Donald J. Trump) loyalist at Langley, they wail. She must be stopped at all costs!”

For America’s most famous — and tragic — political dynasty, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become a black sheep.

JFK’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg, accused RFK Jr. on the X social media platform this week of being “so obviously a Russian spy” after the reports about his daughter-in-law.

Kennedy’s office did not reply to a request for comment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Padma Vibhushan SM Krishna served in several top positions at the Centre and the state level, including Governor, External Affairs Minister and Chief Minister, in a political career that spanned half a century. But before his deep dive into domestic politics, he played a key role in a US election as a law student there. And was appreciated by none other than charismatic US President John F Kennedy.

In 1960, Democratic leader Kennedy was running for President. Mr Krishna, then a 28-year-old law student in the US, wrote to Mr Kennedy and offered to campaign for him in areas dominated by Indian Americans. The next year, Mr Kennedy was elected President and did not forget the contribution of the young Indian student.

In a letter dated January 19, 1961, Mr Kennedy wrote to Mr Krishna, “I hope that these few lines will convey my warm appreciation for your efforts during the campaign. I am most grateful for the splendid enthusiasm of my associates. I am only sorry I have not been able to personally thank you for the excellent work which you performed in behalf of the Democratic ticket.

“Without your unrelenting efforts and loyalty, victory would not have been possible last November 8th,” Mr Kennedy wrote, two years before he was assassinated in one of the most shocking events in world history.

Mr Krishna, who had been ailing for some time, died at his Bengaluru home this morning. He is survived by his wife Prema and daughters Shambhavi and Malavika.

After finishing his education at the George Washington University Law School, Mr Krishna returned to India. His long political journey started in 1962 when he won the Maddur Assembly seat in Karnataka as an Independent candidate. He was with the Praja Socialist Party before joining the Congress.

Over the next five decades, he served as Karnataka Chief Minister, Maharashtra Governor, External Affairs Minister and Assembly Speaker. His term as Karnataka Chief Minister from October 1999 to May 2004 is credited with changing the face of Bengaluru and starting its transformation into an IT hub. After a five-decade journey with the Congress, Mr Krishna joined the BJP in 2017 before eventually retiring from politics in 2023, citing his advanced age and health issues.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures as he is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
| Photo Credit: AP

 Shots were fired during a rally speech by Donald Trump, in an incident that investigators are treating as a possible assassination attempt on the former President.

Including Abraham Lincoln and JFK, here are some notable examples of shootings involving U.S. Presidents or presidential candidates:

Donald Trump shooting LIVE updates July 14, 2024

Ronald Reagan (1981)

President Reagan was shot and seriously wounded as he left an event at the Hilton hotel in Washington. The attacker was John Hinckley Jr, who was granted unconditional release in 2022.

Reagan spent twelve days in the hospital. The incident boosted Reagan’s popularity, as he displayed humor and resilience during his recovery.

Gerald Ford (1975)

President Ford was left unscathed in two separate assassination attempts by women in September 1975, both in California and within a span of just 17 days.

George Wallace (1972)

While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Wallace was shot four times and paralyzed for life at a shopping mall in Laurel, Maryland.

The assassination attempt on Wallace, who was known for his segregationist views and populist appeal, highlighted the ongoing political tensions in the US and potential for domestic violence in the Vietnam war era.

Robert F. Kennedy (1968)

President John F. Kennedy’s brother Robert, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, was shot and killed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

The assassination had a profound impact on the 1968 presidential race and occurred just two months after the killing of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, adding to the political turmoil of the late 1960s.

John F. Kennedy (1963)

Riding in his motorcade with his wife Jackie, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

The Warren Commission investigating the assassination concluded in 1964 that Lee Harvey Oswald, a former marine who had lived in the Soviet Union, had acted alone.

Many Americans believe the death of JFK began a more violent period in US politics and society, with the Vietnam War build up and the civil rights struggle as a backdrop.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933)

As president-elect, FDR was the target of an assassination attempt in Miami, Florida. He was unharmed, but Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was killed in the attack.

Theodore Roosevelt (1912)

Like Trump, Teddy Roosevelt was running for the White House as a former President when he was shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The bullet, which remained lodged in his chest for the rest of his life, was slowed by the folded 50-page speech and steel eyeglass case in his breast pocket.

Famously, Roosevelt decided to deliver his scheduled speech despite being shot.

William McKinley (1901)

President McKinley was shot and killed by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York.

Abraham Lincoln (1865)

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer, while watching a play called “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater in Washington.

Booth’s attack, just days after the Confederate surrender in the Civil War, was part of a larger plot that included attempts to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.