The U.S. government has begun releasing the long-classified JFK Files starting March 18, following orders from President Donald Trump to unseal documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The declassified papers reveal that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) once operated covert “Black Ops and Assassination Programs,” including during Kennedy’s presidency.
CIA’s secretive operations exposed
The massive trove of documents, previously withheld due to national security concerns, details the CIA’s clandestine program known as Project ZRRIFLE. Under this initiative, the agency ran highly classified operations that included targeted assassinations. The Shirion Collective, a surveillance network, cited the JFK Files in revealing that these covert missions were actively carried out while Kennedy was in office.
The documents indicate that tensions were high between the CIA and the White House at the time of Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963. Reports suggest the agency operated with minimal oversight, engaging in covert missions beyond government control.
Covert funding and organized crime links
The files highlight the existence of CIA black-budget funding used for assassination operations, safehouses, and fabricated identities—so-called “off-the-books operations” that were never meant to be exposed. The agency also recruited individuals from the criminal underworld for espionage purposes, working with narcotics traffickers and organized crime figures to further its intelligence efforts.
Notably, the documents reference “false flag operations” as a geopolitical strategy during the Cold War. In such cases, Soviet or Czech actors were to be framed if operations went awry, shielding the CIA from direct culpability.
Secrecy at all costs
One particularly cryptic reference in the files is the phrase “The Magic Button,” along with explicit instructions to avoid using the term “assassination.” To further obscure its involvement, the CIA reportedly created 201 fabricated files with backdated identities for operatives, ensuring they could never be traced back to the agency.
The documents also detail extreme precautions taken to maintain secrecy. No discussion of these operations was allowed inside CIA buildings, and no official paper trails were created. The goal was to completely sever any ties between the missions and government channels, ensuring plausible deniability if details ever surfaced.
JFK and the CIA’s growing rift
The revelations come against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Kennedy and the CIA. The divide deepened after Kennedy fired CIA Director Allen Dulles following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. The files suggest that, during this period, the agency aggressively pursued independent covert actions, circumventing executive authority.
In 1975, the Church Committee uncovered a range of illegal CIA activities, though the full scope of the agency’s actions during JFK’s presidency remained largely undisclosed. For decades, the U.S. government has denied allegations of rogue intelligence operations tied to Kennedy’s assassination. However, the newly released files shed fresh light on the extent of the agency’s covert activities, raising renewed questions about the hidden history surrounding one of America’s most infamous political tragedies.