The Trump administration released a huge batch of previously classified documents on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on Monday as Americans clamor for information about Jeffrey Epstein. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was publishing 230,000 pages worth of documents relating to the civil rights leader's April 1968 assassination.
The release was in accordance with Donald Trump's executive order earlier this year mandating the release of files on former President John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and MLK. The files in the release had never been digitized 'and sat collecting dust in facilities across the federal government for decades,' according to an ODNI press release.
Their declassification and publication comes as the Trump administration has been dealing with a growing contingent of discontented MAGA devotees who are determined to see additional files on the deceased sex offender. 'If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail, and rich powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of the people,' Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X. 'If not. The base will turn and there's no going back. Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfies. They want the whole steak dinner and will accept nothing else.'
The administration has sought to downplay the Epstein files in recent days. The timing of the MLK files immediately raised suspicions online. 'This is nothing but a distraction from the lack of the release of the Epstein files!' commentator Ed Krassenstein posted on X. 'How do we get the MLK files before Epstein!' pundit Luke Rudkowsi similarly wrote.
Multiple Trump administration officials touted the release as an act of transparency. 'The American people have waited nearly sixty years to see the full scope of the federal government's investigation into Dr. King's assassination,' Gabbard said in a statement.
'Under President Trump's leadership, we are ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our mission to deliver complete transparency on this pivotal and tragic event in our nation's history,' she continued. 'I extend my deepest appreciation to the King family for their support.' CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the effort delivers 'maximum transparency rto the American people.'
Dr. Alveda King, the niece of MLK, celebrated the release. 'I am grateful to President Trump and DNI Gabbard for delivering on their pledge of transparency in the release of these documents on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr,' she said in a statement.
'My uncle lived boldly in pursuit of truth and justice, and his enduring legacy of faith continues to inspire Americans to this day. While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.'