US Senator and former Attorney General Robert F Kennedy (1925 - 1968) waves during a presidential campaign rally on Olvera Street at the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, Los Angeles, California, March 24, 1968. (Photo by Steve Slocomb/Getty Images)
Washington D.C. – Nearly 60 years after the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, the federal government on Friday released approximately 10,000 pages of related records — the latest move in a transparency push ordered by former President Donald Trump.
The documents, posted online by the National Archives and Records Administration, include handwritten notes from Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of killing Kennedy on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel moments after the senator claimed victory in California’s Democratic presidential primary.
One chilling note was scrawled on an empty envelope with a Los Angeles IRS return address: “RFK must be disposed of like his brother was.” The materials are part of 229 newly digitized files, some of which had remained buried in federal storage facilities for decades.
“The American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of President Trump,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a statement, calling the disclosure “a long-overdue light on the truth.”
The release follows a similar declassification effort last month involving files from the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While those documents detailed Cold War-era covert operations, they offered little direct support for long-debated conspiracy theories. Whether the RFK files will alter public understanding remains to be seen.
Trump, who has long expressed skepticism of U.S. intelligence agencies, signed an executive order in January 2021 calling for the release of classified records related to the assassinations of both Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who were killed just two months apart in 1968. The release is part of a broader effort to increase transparency in cases that have fueled public suspicion for generations.
Sirhan Sirhan, now 79, has been serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. His lawyers have maintained for years that he poses no danger and should be released. In 2021, a parole board agreed. However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected the recommendation in 2022, citing Sirhan’s lack of remorse and insight. A different board denied parole again in 2023.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving as the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, praised both Trump and Gabbard for their “courage” and commitment to transparency. “Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” he said in a statement.
