The JFK files: The story so far

The U.S. government is all set to release on October 26 the last batch of files pertaining to the incident that occurred 54 years ago.

In this July 26, 1963 file photo, U.S. President John F. Kennedy sits behind microphones at his desk in Washington after finishing his radio-television broadcast to the nation on the nuclear test ban agreement initialed by negotiators in Moscow.

In 1992, Oliver Stone directed  JFK , a film on the former American President’s life, more importantly on his assassination. A year after its release, U.S. Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which stated that the files collected in connection with the assassination were to be made public no later than 25 years from the date of enactment of the law. That deadline expires this October 26 and the U.S. government is all set to release the last batch of files pertaining to the incident that occurred 54 years ago.

The assassination of the 35th President has long been the subject of conspiracy theories. Though the Warren Commission that held a 10-month-long investigation into the incident concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, the man considered the shooter, acted alone, conspiracy theorists believe that wasn’t the case. While the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is blamed for the assassination by many, then Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson is also thought to be responsible by some, including Mr. Stone.

Cuban and Russian spies, false leads, strippers, bizarre CIA murder plots and a furious FBI director. Newly released secret records are full of intriguing details surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Photo shows Kennedy, First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally ride in a limousine moments before Kennedy was assassinated, in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

The public is getting a look at thousands of secret government files related to President John F. Kennedy's assassination, but hundreds of other documents will remain under wraps for now.

The Warren Commission, which investigated John F. Kennedy’s murder, determined that Lee Harvey Oswald — a former Marine Corps sharpshooter — acted alone but that conclusion has failed to quell years of speculation that others were involved. Photo shows Oswald, surrounded by detectives, talking to the media as he is led down a corridor of the Dallas police station for questioning in connection with the assassination of the President.

According to the new JFK assassination files released on October 26, 2017, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover expressed his anger with the “inexcusable” failure of Dallas Police to protect Lee Harvey Oswald despite repeated FBI warnings that his life was at risk. Photo shows Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby in the underground garage of the Dallas police headquarters on November 24, 1963.

Everyone has their theories, including even President Lyndon B. Johnson. According to one document released on October 26, 2017, Johnson believed John F. Kennedy was behind the assassination of the South Vietnamese President and that Kennedy’s murder was payback, the newly released documents say. Photo shows Vice-President Johnson taking oath of office as Kennedy's widow Jacqueline Kennedy stands at his side aboard Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas just two hours after Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

The former Soviet Union’s intelligence agency KGB allegedly claimed it had information tying Lyndon Johnson to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The allegation was contained in long-secret files released on October 26, 2017. This March 16, 1961 photo shows Kennedy in his office during a meeting with Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara and Vice-President Johnson at the White House.

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To add more smoke to a possible fire, the U.S. government has refused to make details of investigation public until recently. The U.S. National Archives has been releasing data in small batches since 1990, but most were insignificant files. As more files were released in subsequent years, it resulted in a five-million-page library that gave light to some information withheld by intelligence agencies.

Now, only 3,100 documents are left, apart from 30,000 files, which have only been partially released. Though there may not be a smoking gun in the documents, considering the secrecy with which the files have been handled all along, this release has heightened the expectations.