The CIA has declassified and made public an additional 1,450 pages tied to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, including 54 documents that were previously classified. The newly released materials explore various aspects of the case, focusing particularly on Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of carrying out the assassination, and include handwritten notes and psychological analyses. No evidence suggesting a broader conspiracy has emerged from the new material.
The documents offer deeper insight into Sirhan Sirhan’s mindset and motivations. The Palestinian-born Jordanian national was arrested for fatally shooting Kennedy on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles. Among the records is a psychological evaluation and other personal materials written by Sirhan himself.
In a July 8 analysis, federal psychologists expressed their surprise over Sirhan’s actions, stating, “Under no circumstances would we have predicted that [Sirhan] was ‘capable’ of doing what he did.”
The same document explicitly rules out the notion that Sirhan was knowingly part of an organized plot. “Obviously, we cannot see him as part of a conspiracy,” the report says. “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 further suggests that Sirhan lacked the precision to follow complex directives. “It is very unlikely however that he could have effectively acted under precise instructions,” the report continues. “Essentially, we see Sirhan as being much more like the impulsive assassins of [James] Garfield and [William] McKinley than the calculating assassins of Lincoln and President [John F.] Kennedy.”
Among Sirhan’s writings is a disturbing note that reads, “Kennedy must fall Kennedy must fall. Please pay to the order of Sirhan Sirhan.” This note, dated May 19, 1968, predates many of his other entries and had already been made public by The Washington Post.
Another passage reads, “We believe that Robert F. Kennedy must be sacrificed for the cause of the poor exploited people,” and goes on to say that the senator would “eventually be felled … by an assassin’s bullet … tonight tonight tonight.”
In a televised conversation with journalist David Frost in 1989, Sirhan cited Kennedy’s position on the 1967 Six-Day War as a key grievance. He said that Kennedy’s “sole support of Israel” felt like “a betrayal.”
During the interview, Sirhan said he was “totally sorry” for what had happened and felt “nothing but remorse for having caused that tragic death,” while also insisting he had no memory of actually firing the weapon.
A psychological assessment from June 12, 1968, described Sirhan as having “high intellectual potential,” and noted he was “quite intuitive.” It also mentioned his ideological leaning, suggesting he viewed “communism may appear as an ideal solution.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services, has long expressed doubts about the official account of his father’s assassination. In 2018, he visited Sirhan in a California prison to better understand the case.
“I got to a place where I had to see Sirhan,’’ he told The Washington Post. “I went [to the prison] because I was curious and disturbed by what I had seen in the evidence.”
He added, “I was disturbed that the wrong person might have been convicted of killing my father,” referring to inconsistencies he observed in the autopsy, eyewitness statements, and police documentation.
In a 2021 opinion piece published by the San Francisco Chronicle, Kennedy placed blame on another individual. He wrote that part-time security guard Thane Eugene Cesar was responsible for the shooting.
“I firmly believe the idea that Sirhan murdered my dad is a fiction that is impeding justice,” Kennedy stated in support of Sirhan’s bid for parole—an argument that drew criticism from other members of the Kennedy family.
Cesar, who consistently denied any wrongdoing and never faced charges, passed away in the Philippines in 2019.
Some of the newly released files also focus on a lesser-known episode in Kennedy’s life. During a 1955 trip to the Soviet Union with then-Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Kennedy acted as a voluntary informant for the CIA.
Kennedy’s observations from that journey were recorded in a detailed 129-page travel diary and subsequently turned over to the Agency.
He also supplied more than 1,000 photographs and film footage from various sites he visited during the trip.
A CIA spokesperson told The Post that the material illustrates Kennedy’s deep commitment to national service and his awareness of global threats. “The USSR was our top adversary at the time,” the official emphasized.
The declassified Sirhan documents include details of his upbringing and international connections, but stress that he had no known affiliation with terrorist organizations, the official said.
“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,” said CIA Director John Ratcliffe in an official statement.
“I am proud to share our work on this incredibly important topic with the American people.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had earlier authorized the release of over 10,000 pages related to Kennedy’s assassination at the Ambassador Hotel shortly after he won the 1968 California Democratic primary.
“I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency,” Kennedy Jr. said in a separate statement. “I’m grateful also to Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe for their dogged efforts to root out and declassify these documents.”
{Matzav.com}
