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Donald Trump pledges to release John F. Kennedy's assassination files
Donald Trump has announced he does not plan to block the release of thousands of never-before-seen documents about President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
The files, made famous by the Oliver Stone film JFK, are a favourite of conspiracy theorists who believe the government played a role in his death.
The National Archives by law has until Thursday to make public any remaining files linked to the 1963 killing, including those from the FBI and CIA.
The US President does have the power to withhold documents he believes could harm US intelligence, law enforcement, the military or US foreign relations.
However Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday:
It comes after pressure from politicians such as Congressman Chuck Grassley who said earlier this month it was “time to let the American people and historians” see the texts.
The documents include more than 3,000 that have never been seen by the public and some 30,000 that have been previously released, but with redactions.
Historians believe the files could shed light on the killer Lee Harvey Oswald’s mysterious trip to Mexico City just weeks before the assassination - possibly causing damage to US-Mexico relations.
However some played down the chances of a bombshell discovery. “There’s going to be no smoking gun in there”, Gerald Posner, the author of ‘Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK’, told CNN.
"But anybody who thinks this is going to turn the case on its head and suddenly show that there were three or four shooters at Dealey Plaza - it's not the case."