The secret files on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. will be released in the next ‘few days,’ Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Thursday.
She made the announcement at President Donald Trump’s cabinet meeting, adding that her team of ‘hunters’ is looking through the FBI and CIA archives to ‘actively’ search for any missing ‘truths.’
In the meantime, some of the remaining files on two of the most prominent figures in American history will see the light of day shortly.
‘These have been sitting in boxes and storage for decades. They have never been scanned or seen before. We’ll have those ready to release here within the next few days,’ she said of the RFK and MLK files.
Trump asked if Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his Health and Human Services secretary and RFK’s son, could see his father’s files before they are public.
‘Let Bobby see some of this because, you know, it’s very personal stuff,’ the president said.
‘I’ve asked him,’ Gabbard assured the president. ‘His response was ‘put it out – the world needs to know the truth.”
Kennedy said he was ‘grateful’ the files are being released.
Robert F Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968 in Los Angeles after he won the California Democratic primary in that year’s presidential election.
Martin Luther King Jr., a hero of the civil rights movement, was killed on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Trump, who enjoys a conspiracy theory, has ordered the release of documents surrounding the deaths of prominent Americans that have been subject to endless speculation if whether or not government investigations told the truth or were part of a massive coverup.
In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the declassification of records related to the Kennedy brothers and MLK Jr.
‘Everything will be revealed,’ he vowed when he signed it.
But the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein and John F. Kennedy earlier this year have proved a disappointment to the conspiracy world, which did not find a smoking gun that shed any light on the assortment of theories out there.
The MLK files could prove more fruitful.
The material, sealed since 1977, apparently includes tapes and transcripts of FBI surveillance of the civil rights icon before his death, including unflattering and prurient details about King’s relationships with women that could tarnish his legacy.
But they could also show hw the FBI was illegally surveilling King, at the order of then Director J. Edgar Hoover. The agency also went after King by threatening to send King’s wife, Coretta, a tape of King having an extramarital affair, as well as a note encouraging him to kill himself for the sake of the civil rights movement.
King’s family has objected to the release, saying it could revive efforts to discredit the revered activist with the public.
They asked to see any MLK files before they are released to the general public.
Assassin James Earl Ray fatally shot King at the Lorraine motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
It’s unclear what Gabbard meant about releasing the RFK assassination files and how much new information they will reveal.
Most of the investigation files are in the California State Archives as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) led the probe.
Those files include the LAPD’s records on the investigation, including documents, photographs, audio tapes, and video tapes.
The FBI also investigated the RFK’s killing so there are files in that agency but most of the information is in California.
Gabbard doesn’t have jurisdiction over state files but she can order the federal ones released.
While a large portion of RFK’s records have been released, some remain fully or partially withheld due to redactions or court-ordered seals.
RFK was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian, in retaliation for his support of Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. He died 25 hours later.
Sirhan was arrested, tried, and convicted, though RFK’s assassination, like his brother’s, continues to be the subject of numerous conspiracy theories.
And there may be more to come.
Gabbard also said her staff is searching the archives at the FBI and CIA and vowed to find the ‘truth.’
‘We also have hunters going out, Mr. President, and looking in the storage lockers at FBI and CIA and other agencies specifically to find if there are, if there is anything else that has not been reported. We’re actively going out and trying to search out the truth,’ she said.