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| Martin Luther |
Trump administration releases records related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination
The Trump administration has released a trove of records related to the assassination of American politician, activist, and clergyman Martin Luther King Jr., including FBI surveillance files.
A court order had kept the 230,000 pages of FBI documents secret from the public since 1977.
Many members of King's family have opposed the release of the documents. A statement from Martin Luther King Jr.'s children, Martin III and Bernice, condemned "any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our father's legacy."
King, a Baptist minister, was shot in Memphis on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. James Earl Ray, a career criminal, pleaded guilty to the murder but later recanted his confession.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s sons, Martin III and Bernice, who were notified in advance of the documents' release, said in a statement Monday: "We ask that those involved in releasing these files do so with compassion, restraint, and respect for our family's ongoing grief."
The Director of National Intelligence said the documents included "internal FBI memos" and "previously unseen CIA records" behind the hunt for King's killer.
The release of the files was coordinated with the FBI, the Department of Justice, the National Archives, and the CIA.
"The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation's great leaders," said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
Trump's critics pointed out that the release of the files comes as the administration is accused of a lack of transparency regarding files related to influential sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose 2019 death in prison was ruled a suicide.
Civil rights leader Al Sharpton said the release of the King files was a "desperate attempt to distract" from Trump's "firestorm over the Epstein files and the general collapse of his credibility."
Not all members of the King family were upset by the release of the files. "I am grateful to President Trump and DNI Gabbard for fulfilling their pledge of transparency," said Alveda King, referring to the civil rights leader as "my uncle." She added, "As we continue to mourn his passing, the declassification and release of these documents is a historic step toward the truth the American people deserve."
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