US President Donald Trump released thousands of government files on former president John F Kennedy's assassination, triggering fresh controversies and digging up old conspiracy theories. One of the shocking revelations is the mention of CIA agent Gary Underhill who was found dead mysteriously days after he claimed that the agency was responsible for Kennedy's assassination.
On Tuesday, the National Archives declared that these records, which were previously withheld for classification, will now be available for anyone. Currently around 63,000 pages have been uploaded and more are expected to by digitised soon.
Newly released JFK files tell a story about how Gary Underhill, who worked for the CIA, was found dead after he revealed to friends that the CIA was responsible for JFK’s assassination.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 19, 2025
“The day after the assassination, Gary Underhill left Washington in a hurry. Late in the… pic.twitter.com/psZkYQ5COi
John F Kennedy (JFK), was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
Following Kennedy's assassination, Underhill fled Washington the next day and was in hiding at his friend's New Jersey home. An agitated Underhill told his friends that Kennedy was assassinated at the behest of a small group within the CIA.
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President Trump is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency. Today, per his direction, previously redacted JFK Assassination Files are being released to the public with no redactions. Promises made, promises kept. https://t.co/UnG1vkgxjX pic.twitter.com/XBbkQfz4Bx
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) March 18, 2025
Underhill maintained that Lee Harvey Oswald was framed for the JFK assassination. "Oswald is a patsy. They set him up. It's too much. The ba****ds have done something outrageous. They've killed the President! I've been listening and hearing things. I couldn't believe they"d get away with it, but they did!" he told his friend, Charlene Fitsimmons.
He said his life was under threat and would have to go abroad. "I know who they are. That's the problem. They know I know. That's why I'm here," he said.
Within a few months, Underhill was found dead at his Washington apartment with gunshot wounds on May 8, 1964. The coroner said the gunshots were self-inflicted, ruling his death a suicide.
There have been several conspiracy theories regarding the JFK assassination, often getting dubbed the "mother of all conspiracies". Those accused of plotting and executing the assassination include not just the CIA, but also the FBI, the US military, the Mafia, former Cuba president Fidel Castro, the Soviet spy agency KGB and others. Some theories claimed that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was just a co-conspirator or even innocent.
Trump in January signed an executive order, directing the declassification of the JFK files as well as files on the assassinations of US Senator Robert F Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
