Latest news with #SirhanSirhan
Fox News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CIA releases declassified documents on Robert F Kennedy assassination
The CIA released 54 declassified documents related to the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) on Thursday, providing an additional 1,450 pages of material for the public to scour through for answers to their conspiracies. CIA Director John Ratcliffe released the documents in response to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and RFK. According to the CIA, the latest batch of documents complements the thousands of pages the agency provided to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as part of their public releases related to JFK earlier this year. The most recent release shows for the first time that RFK, as a senator, shared his experiences traveling to the former Soviet Union with the CIA while reflecting his patriotic commitment to serving his country. "Today's release delivers on President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency, enabling the CIA to shine light on information that serves the public interest," Ratcliffe said. "I am proud to share our work on this incredibly important topic with the American people." Along with sharing information about RFK's Soviet Union experiences, the files also dive into the psychological assessments of Sirhan Sirhan, the man who shot and killed RFK in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. In a personality assessment memo on July 8, 1968, federal authorities declared that "under no circumstances would we have predicted that [Sirhan] was 'capable' of doing what he did." In the same memo, the feds said the odds of Sirhan being successful were "tremendous." "Obviously, we cannot see him as part of a conspiracy," the memo read. "He could be a tool of a conspiracy in the sense that the attempted assassin of Secretary of State [William] Seward and the assigned assassin of Vice President Andrew Johnson [George Atzerodt] were tools of the [John Wilkes] Booth conspiracy. It is very likely, however, that he could have effectively acted under precise instructions." It goes on to say that most people of the type of attack Sirhan was accused of at the time attack their mother or their girlfriend. "Occasionally they will lash out against an employer or colleagues (a case in point is the recent Pennsylvania case of the 'quiet' man who killed his car pool and then himself)," the memo read. "Sometimes they will pick public figures and make abortive attempts to get at them. Essentially, we see Sirhan as being more like the impulsive assassins of [former presidents James] Garfield and [William] McKinley than the calculating assassins of [Abraham] Lincoln and President Kennedy." The file release is what the CIA said was a collaborative effort directed by Trump and led by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard with coordination from the CIA, Department of Justice, FBI and NARA. "Today's release is another important step in fulfilling President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency. Thank you to those at the CIA, ODNI, and NARA who worked hard to locate, review, and digitize these documents, many of which have never been released publicly before," Gabbard said. "We will continue coordinating with our partners across the Intelligence Community to fulfill President Trump's promise of maximum transparency." The documents are available to the public and can be viewed by visiting and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a guest on Fox News' "The Story" on Thursday and told host Martha MacCallum that he did not know his father was reporting back to the CIA during his trip to the Soviet Union in 1955, when he was a Senate aide. "My mother was on that trip," RFK Jr. said. "She joined him in St. Petersburg, and she actually was working for the CIA at that time, and she was wearing a carnation in her lapel that was attached to a little bubble where she could take pictures." RFK Jr. continued by saying the Soviets had brought artwork back to now-St. Petersburg after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Germans, he explained, had confiscated the artwork from some of the Jewish families and that the CIA was interested in that. "I don't think it was anything of grave national security interest, but it was, you know, it's an interesting fact that I didn't know about my dad," he said.
The National
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
'Kennedy must fall': CIA releases Sirhan Sirhan diary pages and RFK assassination files
Previously classified documents related to the 1968 murder of presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy and his Palestinian Christian assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, have been released by the CIA. One of the files details an emergency meeting of the Palestine Arab Delegation in the Arab League offices of New York's Chrysler building following the killing of Mr Kennedy. Sirhan, a Palestinian who emigrated from Jordan to the US, shot and killed Mr Kennedy on June 6, 1968, after he won the California Democratic presidential primary. Several investigations by the Los Angeles police and FBI indicated speeches given by Mr Kennedy on the campaign trail in support of Israel prompted Sirhan's motivation. 'Kennedy must fall … Kennedy must fall' reads one of the diary entries written by Sirhan, released in the latest document dump. Another document, an intelligence report circulated in the CIA, shows that the Palestinian Arab Delegation was closely monitored by the intelligence agency after Sirhan was taken into custody. At an emergency meeting of the group held during the assassin's trial, Issa Nakhleh, a former senior adviser to the UN Palestinian Delegation, described Sirhan as an 'Arab guerrilla' whose murder of Mr Kennedy was 'motivated by political events'. 'Nakhleh informed the group that one of his aims in briefing the group was to enlist their support for a trip to the Middle East which he planned to make in order to collect funds to aid Sirhan's defence,' reads the document. The source for those particular meeting notes appears to be an informant, described by the CIA as a 'Middle East national with a leftist political orientation who has good contacts at the UN'. It also alleges that Mr Nakhleh had in the past been accused of being a 'loose handler' of funds – that he had previously raised money for various causes, but that the funds later 'found a way into his pockets'. Another released document shows that both the CIA and FBI were particularly concerned with how the Soviet Union was portraying Sirhan. 'Soviet media have displayed predictable sensitivity to the fact that the suspect is an Arab immigrant,' reads one of the reports, which also examined how a Soviet journalist's opinion piece critiqued the US reaction to Sirhan. 'Izvestiya Kondrashov accused the US press of 'playing on the Arab origin of the assassin' and on evidence of his 'anti-Israeli attitudes' in order to shift the blame from the American way of life, 'the real guilty party in the tragedy.'' A report compiled before the assassination, titled 'The Arab Nationalists Movement', was also circulated in the CIA shortly after Mr Kennedy was killed, while investigators were trying to learn about Sirhan's motives. 'In Jordan recently, a new Arab Nationalists Movement commando group has been organised to carry out raids within Israel,' the report reads. In April of 1969, a jury found Sirhan guilty of assassinating Mr Kennedy. Despite a preponderance of evidence, conspiracy theories have thrived for decades, with some suggesting Sirhan's innocence. In a previous interview with The National, author Mel Ayton, widely considered to be one of the foremost experts on Sirhan and the assassination, said that all of those theories fall apart under even the most basic examination. Any documents that remain classified, he explained, are classified for security reasons. 'It wasn't about covering anything up, it was about protecting sources, police sources and potential informants – that's what it all comes down to,' he said. Sirhan's many attempts to be paroled have so far been unsuccessful. He was briefly granted parole by the California parole board in 2021, only to have the decision vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the assassination was one of the most notorious crimes in US history. For the 17th time since being incarcerated in 1969, Sirhan was again denied a parole request in 2023. He will be eligible again in 2027. The prisoner, 81, has periodically made contradictory comments about his role in the assassination. During some interviews, he claims not to remember the events, while in others, he seems to express remorse.
Fox News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CIA releases declassified documents on Robert F Kennedy assassination under Trump order
The CIA released 54 declassified documents related to the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) on Thursday, providing an additional 1,450 pages of material for the public to scour through for answers to their conspiracies. CIA Director John Ratcliffe released the documents in response to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and RFK. According to the CIA, the latest batch of documents complements the thousands of pages the agency provided to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as part of their public releases related to JFK earlier this year. The most recent release shows for the first time that RFK, as a senator, shared his experiences traveling to the former Soviet Union with the CIA while reflecting his patriotic commitment to serving his country. "Today's release delivers on President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency, enabling the CIA to shine light on information that serves the public interest," Ratcliffe said. "I am proud to share our work on this incredibly important topic with the American people." Along with sharing information about RFK's Soviet Union experiences, the files also dive into the psychological assessments of Sirhan Sirhan, the man who shot and killed RFK in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. In a personality assessment memo on July 8, 1968, federal authorities declared that "under no circumstances would we have predicted that [Sirhan] was 'capable' of doing what he did." In the same memo, the feds said the odds of Sirhan being successful were "tremendous." "Obviously, we cannot see him as part of a conspiracy," the memo read. "He could be a tool of a conspiracy in the sense that the attempted assassin of Secretary of State [William] Seward and the assigned assassin of Vice President Andrew Johnson [George Atzerodt] were tools of the [John Wilkes] Booth conspiracy. It is very likely, however, that he could have effectively acted under precise instructions." It goes on to say that most people of the type of attack Sirhan was accused of at the time attack their mother or their girlfriend. "Occasionally they will lash out against an employer or colleagues (a case in point is the recent Pennsylvania case of the 'quiet' man who killed his car pool and then himself)," the memo read. "Sometimes they will pick public figures and make abortive attempts to get at them. Essentially, we see Sirhan as being more like the impulsive assassins of [former presidents James] Garfield and [William] McKinley than the calculating assassins of [Abraham] Lincoln and President Kennedy." The file release is what the CIA said was a collaborative effort directed by Trump and led by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard with coordination from the CIA, Department of Justice, FBI and NARA. "Today's release is another important step in fulfilling President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency. Thank you to those at the CIA, ODNI, and NARA who worked hard to locate, review, and digitize these documents, many of which have never been released publicly before," Gabbard said. "We will continue coordinating with our partners across the Intelligence Community to fulfill President Trump's promise of maximum transparency." The documents are available to the public and can be viewed by visiting and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a guest on Fox News' "The Story" on Thursday and told host Martha MacCallum that he did not know his father was reporting back to the CIA during his trip to the Soviet Union in 1955, when he was a Senate aide. "My mother was on that trip," RFK Jr. said. "She joined him in St. Petersburg, and she actually was working for the CIA at that time, and she was wearing a carnation in her lapel that was attached to a little bubble where she could take pictures." RFK Jr. continued by saying the Soviets had brought artwork back to now-St. Petersburg after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Germans, he explained, had confiscated the artwork from some of the Jewish families and that the CIA was interested in that. "I don't think it was anything of grave national security interest, but it was, you know, it's an interesting fact that I didn't know about my dad," he said.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump's CIA releases 1,500 pages of never-seen-before RFK files including chilling handwritten notes from killer
The CIA released over 1,500 pages Thursday of new previously unseen documents surrounding the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, which included handwritten notes from the convicted killer. The new documents include a heavily redacted psychological profile of Sirhan Sirhan, noting that the man convicted of killing Kennedy had 'high intellectual potential' which was 'not properly utilized,' but conceded he had 'no specialized training in any area.' Kennedy was shot and killed after the Democratic presidential primary in California in June 1968, just four-and-a-half years after his brother President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Sirhan, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship, claimed he murdered RFK because of his support for Israel. A personality assessment of Sirhan was also included in the release. 'Obviously, we cannot see him as part of a conspiracy,' the assessment read, but said it was possible 'he could be a tool of a conspiracy' even though 'the odds against him being successful were tremendous.' 'It is very unlikely however that he could have effectively acted under precise instructions,' the memo read. 'Today's release delivers on President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency, enabling the CIA to shine light on information that serves the public interest,' CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement. 'I am proud to share our work on this incredibly important topic with the American people.' The assessment describes Sirhan as an 'impulsive assassin' rather than a 'calculating assassin.' It included a copy of Sirhan's handwritten notes in which he raged against Kennedy. 'Kennedy must fall. Kennedy must fall. Please pay to the order of Sirhan Sirhan,' reads the note, decrying the 'second group of American Traitors who must be disposed of.' 'We believe that Robert F. Kennedy must be sacrificed for the cause of the poor exploited people,' the notes continued. The documents also revealed that Kennedy met with the CIA after he toured the Soviet Union as a young Senate staffer in 1955 as a voluntary informant. Kennedy delivered significant detail of his trips to the the USSR, visiting locations highlighting the court system, manufacturing facilities, a mosque, collective farms, a music festival, and a union school. 'The records reveal for the first time that Senator Kennedy shared his experiences traveling to the former Soviet Union with CIA, reflecting his patriotic commitment to serving his country,' the CIA said in a statement. DNI Secretary Tulsi Gabbard and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe testify at a congressional hearing Other files show the FBI and CIA's concerns that they would be accused of assassinating Sen. Kennedy as part of an ongoing 'political murder conspiracy' circulating in the public. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, thanked the Trump administration for revealing more documents about his father's death. 'Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,' he said. 'I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency. I'm grateful also to Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe for their dogged efforts to root out and declassify these documents.' Gabbard has focused intently on releasing documents related to Senator Kennedy's death, revealing in April that the documents, 'really support the questions that Secretary Kennedy has been asking for decades about who really killed his father.'
The National
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
'RFK must fall': CIA releases Sirhan Sirhan diary pages and Kennedy assassination files
Previously classified documents related to the 1968 murder of presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy and his Palestinian Christian assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, have been released by the CIA. One of the files details an emergency meeting of the Palestine Arab Delegation in the Arab League offices of New York's Chrysler building following the killing of Mr Kennedy. Sirhan, a Palestinian who emigrated from Jordan to the US, shot and killed Mr Kennedy on June 6, 1968, after he won the California Democratic presidential primary. Several investigations by the Los Angeles police and FBI indicated speeches given by Mr Kennedy on the campaign trail in support of Israel prompted Sirhan's motivation. 'Kennedy must fall … Kennedy must fall' reads one of the diary entries written by Sirhan, released in the latest document dump. Another document, an intelligence report circulated in the CIA, shows that the Palestinian Arab Delegation was closely monitored by the intelligence agency after Sirhan was taken into custody. At an emergency meeting of the group held during the assassin's trial, Issa Nakhleh, a former senior adviser to the UN Palestinian Delegation, described Sirhan as an 'Arab guerrilla' whose murder of Mr Kennedy was 'motivated by political events'. 'Nakhleh informed the group that one of his aims in briefing the group was to enlist their support for a trip to the Middle East which he planned to make in order to collect funds to aid Sirhan's defence,' reads the document. The source for those particular meeting notes appears to be an informant, described by the CIA as a 'Middle East national with a leftist political orientation who has good contacts at the UN'. It also alleges that Mr Nakhleh had in the past been accused of being a 'loose handler' of funds – that he had previously raised money for various causes, but that the funds later 'found a way into his pockets'. Another released document shows that both the CIA and FBI were particularly concerned with how the Soviet Union was portraying Sirhan. 'Soviet media have displayed predictable sensitivity to the fact that the suspect is an Arab immigrant,' reads one of the reports, which also examined how a Soviet journalist's opinion piece critiqued the US reaction to Sirhan. 'Izvestiya Kondrashov accused the US press of 'playing on the Arab origin of the assassin' and on evidence of his 'anti-Israeli attitudes' in order to shift the blame from the American way of life, 'the real guilty party in the tragedy.'' A report compiled before the assassination, titled 'The Arab Nationalists Movement', was also circulated in the CIA shortly after Mr Kennedy was killed, while investigators were trying to learn about Sirhan's motives. 'In Jordan recently, a new Arab Nationalists Movement commando group has been organised to carry out raids within Israel,' the report reads. In April of 1969, a jury found Sirhan guilty of assassinating Mr Kennedy. Despite a preponderance of evidence, conspiracy theories have thrived for decades, with some suggesting Sirhan's innocence. In a previous interview with The National, author Mel Ayton, widely considered to be one of the foremost experts on Sirhan and the assassination, said that all of those theories fall apart under even the most basic examination. Any documents that remain classified, he explained, are classified for security reasons. 'It wasn't about covering anything up, it was about protecting sources, police sources and potential informants – that's what it all comes down to,' he said. Sirhan's many attempts to be paroled have so far been unsuccessful. He was briefly granted parole by the California parole board in 2021, only to have the decision vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the assassination was one of the most notorious crimes in US history. For the 17th time since being incarcerated in 1969, Sirhan was again denied a parole request in 2023. He will be eligible again in 2027. The prisoner, 81, has periodically made contradictory comments about his role in the assassination. During some interviews, he claims not to remember the events, while in others, he seems to express remorse.
