So, he's finally done it: Donald Trump has released the JFK files. What do these new documents tell us about that fateful day in Dallas?
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00:00So, he's finally done it. Donald Trump has released the JFK files. What do these new
00:05documents tell us about that fateful day in Dallas?
00:08In 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order triggering the public release
00:12of any and all still-classified government documents relating to its investigation of
00:16JFK's assassination.
00:17That's a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this one, long for years.
00:23The materials finally surfaced on March 18, 2025, and while they don't contain much information
00:29not previously known to the public, a few of them shed some light on Lee Harvey Oswald's
00:33history with the Soviet Union.
00:35While it's common knowledge that Oswald spent time in the USSR prior to the murder of President
00:39Kennedy, there have long been rumors that he was somehow affiliated with the KGB.
00:43One document puts that idea to rest, however. Dated November 20, 1991, the communique reveals
00:48that a KGB agent identified as Slava Nikonov went through five extensive files to see if
00:53Oswald had ever worked for the secretive agency, then discussed his findings with the American
00:57college professor E.B. Smith. Nikonov believed that Oswald wasn't easily manipulated, which
01:02was a prerequisite characteristic for potential KGB agents at the time. And while he was rigorously
01:07observed by Soviet agents, they believe he offered no value to the agency. At one point,
01:12for example, they saw him doing target practice and deemed his shooting skills subpar.
01:17According to the Warren Commission, Oswald was the sole person responsible for the assassination
01:21of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Oswald took up a position in Dallas'
01:26Texas School Book Depository building. At around 12.30 p.m., the former U.S. Marine
01:31fired three shots at the president's passing motorcade. It was the third and final shot
01:35that struck Kennedy in the head, ultimately killing him.
01:38But the second bullet from Oswald's rifle also did a substantial amount of damage, as
01:41it tore through both the president and his riding companion, Texas Governor John Connolly.
01:45When I felt an impact, as if someone hit me with a closed fist.
01:50The bullet entered Kennedy through his back and then exited through the neck. It continued
01:54to travel, striking Connolly near his armpit, then moved through the governor's chest and
01:58body, injuring his wrist, before stopping in his thigh.
02:01It couldn't be a more horrible experience.
02:06Since 1960, Secret Service agent Clint Hill had been assigned to First Lady Jackie Kennedy's
02:10security team. He was present on the Dallas trip in November 1963, and after hearing the
02:15first shot, he literally jumped into action, mounting the back of the car in an attempt
02:19to protect the president and his wife. Hill was only inches away from John F. Kennedy
02:23when he took that fatal shot to the head. He forced a panicked Jackie Kennedy to remain
02:27in her seat, where she held her dying husband's head in her lap.
02:30The agent surveyed the profound injuries to the president and quickly realized that he
02:34wasn't likely to survive. According to Hill's memoir, the first lady screamed out,
02:38"'Jack! Jack! What have they done to you?'
02:40For decades after the assassination, Hill harbored extraordinary guilt over the fact
02:44that the president had died on his watch. He subsequently developed a drinking problem,
02:48isolated himself from his family, and even contemplated suicide.
02:52"'I tried. I tried to do the best job I could. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.'"
02:58President Kennedy had suffered from back issues for most of his adult life,
03:01even undergoing multiple surgeries to help alleviate his near-constant pain.
03:05When making public appearances, Kennedy would wear a back brace that was a little like a corset.
03:10It covered his hips in addition to the majority of his back and was laced extremely tightly.
03:14All of that was then wrapped in a constricting fabric bandage.
03:17The system kept everything in place and thereby limited the president's pain,
03:20but it also seriously restricted his movements. The corset prevented even
03:24natural involuntary movements, and that may have been a contributing factor to his death.
03:28Kennedy was wearing the apparatus under his clothes when he rode in his limousine through
03:32Dallas. After he was shot the first time, his body likely would have recoiled, hunched over,
03:36and fallen to the floor of the car, had the president been unencumbered. Instead,
03:40his body remained upright in the seat, giving Lee Harvey Oswald his chance to deliver the killing
03:45blow. When he heard the first shot ring out, Governor John Connally instantly realized what
03:50was happening. He looked across his right shoulder to see if Kennedy was all right,
03:53but couldn't see exactly what had happened. He then began to turn to his left,
03:57at which point he felt a bullet enter his body. Oswald's second bullet pierced one of
04:01the governor's lungs, and he required a four-hour operation to remove it and repair the damage.
04:06In the end, he fully recovered from his injuries, but things could have turned out a lot worse for
04:10him had he not moved the way he did. The day after the shooting, attending physician Dr. Tom
04:14Shires told UPI,
04:16If he had not turned, that bullet would have gone through the middle of his back
04:19and probably would have punctured his heart.
04:21Obviously, Oswald intended to shoot and kill President Kennedy that day, and he also landed
04:26a shot on Governor Connally. But one more individual nearly died at Oswald's hand on
04:30November 22nd. James Taig, a 27-year-old Dallas car salesman, arrived at Dealey Plaza just as the
04:35presidential motorcade was winding through the area. Late for a lunch appointment, Taig parked
04:40his car to get out to see why crowds had gathered. Mere seconds later, he heard a popping sound.
04:44At first, he thought it was a firecracker. Then he noticed the distinctive sound of two
04:48rifle shots. Taig later told the BBC,
04:50And with those last two shots, I felt something sting me in the face.
04:53He ran for cover behind an underpass pylon as the motorcade drove away.
04:57After speaking with two police officers who noticed blood on his face, Taig pieced together
05:01what had happened. He'd been struck by a piece of curb that flew into the air,
05:05dislodged by one of Oswald's bullets.
05:07It's hard to grasp. Today, I'm still trying to grasp.
05:11Contrary to popular belief, Kennedy didn't die instantly in his car on Dealey Plaza.
05:16Instead, he suffered a long and slow demise, one that proved unspeakably harrowing for his wife.
05:21Following the assault, the driver of the presidential vehicle immediately went to
05:24Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was rushed into emergency surgery.
05:28But Kennedy's prognosis was never good. He arrived at the medical facility in what was
05:33described as just near the point of death. The president died on the operating table at Parkland.
05:38As Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital,
05:41the rest of the world attempted to come to terms with what had just happened.
05:44President Kennedy has been assassinated. It's official now. The president is dead.
05:50Some reactions, though, were stranger than others. For example,
05:53the hospital where Kennedy was treated for his mortal wounds received a large
05:56volume of prank phone calls. When the Army Signal Corps took control of Parkland's outgoing phone
06:01lines, the hospital's switchboard operators were tasked with fielding and logging all received
06:05calls. Callers rang in from as far away as Europe, Australia, and South America.
06:09Many demanded more information, falsely claiming to be important people.
06:13One woman gave her identity only as the Underground and claimed she'd called to
06:17offer up her supernatural powers to heal the president. One man told the operator
06:21that he planned to blow up her car. Others blamed Kennedy's assassination on his support
06:25for the civil rights movement. One boy managed to call in three times, reaching three different
06:30operators. Each time, he claimed to be Kennedy's young son before laughing and hanging up.
06:35Secret Service agent Paul Landis was on Jackie Kennedy's security detail at the time of JFK's
06:40death. After witnessing the murder and the president's arrival at the hospital,
06:43Landis decided to investigate the car itself. That's when he noticed the spent bullet on the
06:48seat where Kennedy had been sitting. Landis, technically tampering with evidence, grabbed
06:52the bullet and placed it in his pocket. After entering the emergency room, he placed the
06:56bullet on the dying president's gurney, theorizing that it ought to remain with the body.
07:00Yeah, I didn't want that to disappear. It was an important piece of evidence."
07:04Landis was never interviewed by the Warren Commission,
07:07and he never publicly revealed that he'd taken the bullet until his memoir in 2023.
07:11In the book, Landis claimed that he'd simply forgotten to mention it to anyone.
07:15Pretty much every investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy has
07:19used the same historical document as a starting point — a 26.6-second piece of 8mm film captured
07:25by hobbyist photographer Abraham Zapparuto. The unflinching footage graphically depicts
07:29a president sustaining multiple gunshots to his head and neck. Today, it could feasibly
07:33be considered one of history's most recognizable pieces of film footage.
07:37On November 22nd, Zapparuto had been standing in a spot on Dealey Plaza where he was able to get
07:41a clearer view of the presidential motorcade. But when the shots were fired, Zapparuto became
07:46a direct and primary witness to the killing. Zapparuto later told a reporter,
07:50I saw the president lean over to Jacqueline. Then the second shot came,
07:53and then I realized I saw his head open up, and I started yelling,
07:56they killed him, they killed him. And I continued shooting until they went under the underpass."
08:00The moment deeply impacted Zapparuto's mental health. He said,
08:03It's left in my mind like a wound that heals up, but yet there's a pain left as to what
08:08has happened. His camera was seized by the government and now sits in the National Archives.
08:12He was later given a new one, but never touched it or any other camera ever again.
08:17The events of November 22nd, 1963, loom large in the history of the United States.
08:22The first presidential murder in more than 60 years unnerved the nation,
08:26especially since it had occurred during a time of relative peace and prosperity.
08:30Considering the vast impact of the assassination on the country's cultural memory,
08:33it might seem surprising that the actual timeline of events is so short.
08:37President Kennedy's plane, Air Force One, touched down at Dallas' Love Field Airport at 1130 a.m.
08:42There, the first couple were greeted by the media and well-wishers. By 1145 a.m.,
08:47John and Jackie Kennedy, John Connelly, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and their spouses,
08:51had been loaded into open-topped cars bound for Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.
08:55The motorcade reached its destination at 12 p.m., slowly driving through the streets,
08:59lined with more than 150,000 locals who wanted to get a glimpse at the president.
09:03At 1230 p.m., Oswald opened fire, hitting Kennedy and Connelly.
09:07Rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, Kennedy was pronounced dead one hour and three minutes later.
09:12Just 12 minutes after that, Oswald was arrested in a movie theater. At 238 p.m., Lyndon Johnson
09:17was sworn in as president of the United States on board Air Force One during a flight back to
09:22Washington. The entire course of events, from JFK's arrival in Dallas to Johnson's ascension,
09:27had occurred in a little over three hours.
09:30Did you kill the president?
09:32No, I have not been charged with that. In fact, nobody has said that to me yet.
09:36Within hours after the shooting of President Kennedy, police arrested Oswald,
09:40and the legal system worked quickly against him. The very next day, on November 23rd,
09:44Oswald was arraigned on charges relating to the murders of both the president and a police officer
09:49he killed during his escape. On November 24th, Oswald was transported from Dallas' police
09:53headquarters building to a county jail that could provide better security. And that's when things
09:58went wrong. Officials and members of the media crowded into the station's basement as police
10:02escorted Oswald through. Just then, local nightclub owner Jack Ruby pushed his way through the
10:07onlookers and shot Oswald at point-blank range. Oswald died from his wounds around two hours
10:12later. What's especially notable about Oswald's death is that it was witnessed live by potentially
10:17thousands, if not millions, of people. TV news crews were among the crowd in the police
10:21headquarters basement that day, and they were broadcasting the Oswald transfer live as it
10:25happened, coast to coast. This made Oswald's death the first known televised murder in history,
10:30and marked an ignominious end for one of American history's most mysterious criminals.