An abundance of John F. Kennedy assassination investigation files have finally been released to the public after more than a half-decade of anticipation. Many debated whether the files would be released due to overwhelming arguments coming from the government that claimed that national security would be put at risk, but not Mrs. Skonberg who is an AP Government and AP US History teacher here at ACHS. She knew that a majority of the documents would be released simply because it’s the law that files would have to be released in 2017, according to a statement made by the government at the time of JFK’s death.

Not all of the files were released however.  A few days before the anticipated release, United States President Donald Trump announced some of the files would be kept away from the public.

According to Dallas News, “[the] release came eight days after President Donald Trump agreed to last-minute requests from the CIA and other agencies to keep some material under seal, at least temporarily, citing national security concerns.”

Both the media and public questioned how much of the content in the unreleased and redacted part of the files are truly a risk to national security in today’s date and time, as his assassination happened over half a decade ago.

“I understand that the public’s right to know needs to be balanced with national security,” Skonberg said. “However, I’m not sure how any current security concerns could be a factor a half-century later.”

With many of the files having parts that are removed, it’s a struggle to recognize if the whole entire story is being told while reading them. All the files released can be searched through by an index of the files that everyone can access and search through them by using keywords and phrases to pull up certain documents.

Many of the documents contain information that was already general knowledge, but multiple of them divulge information that wasn’t released before. Most of the files reveal practices that the government engaged in and suspicions they held during JFK’s presidency.

“Transcripts of intercepted phone calls made by assassin Lee Harvey Oswald to the Russian and Cuban embassies in Mexico City during his trip there a few weeks before the killing,’Todd Gillman and C.The CIA had been watching Oswald, a sharpshooter and a rare U.S. defector to the Soviet Union, and some scholars expect the remaining files will show the CIA and FBI botched opportunities to prevent the tragedy,” the Dallas News wrote.

Brian Glashagel teaches Global Studies, Contemporary World Issues and Sociology. He has a strong opinion on the possibilities of President Donald Trump releasing the remainder of the files in the future.

“If Trump makes it to April 26th and actually gets all of the documents released…it would be the only thing I would approve of his term in office,” Glashagel said.

Although groundbreaking news was not released in this set of files, the rest of them are rumored to be released on April 26th. Until the rest of the files are released, what really happened during the investigation of John F. Kennedy’s assassination will remain a mystery to the public.