Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times
The CIA today released more than 1,400 pages of documents related to the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, offering new insights into the case but ultimately supporting the long-standing conclusion that Sirhan Sirhan acted alone.
The newly public files include a mix of psychological assessments, handwritten notes, and historical background about Sirhan, the Palestinian-born Jordanian citizen currently serving a life sentence for Kennedy’s murder. One 1968 government personality report described him as unpredictable and impulsive, the New York Post reported.
“Under no circumstances would we have predicted that [Sirhan] was ‘capable’ of doing what he did,” the report states. Officials stopped short of ruling out all outside influence, comparing him loosely to historical figures used by conspirators.
“Obviously, we cannot see hirn as part of a conspiracy,” the report continued. “He could be a tool of a conspiracy in the sense that the attempted assassin of Secretary of State Seward and the assigned assassin of Vice President Andrew Johnson [George Atzerodt] were tools of the Booth Conspiracy.”
Still, the assessment concluded it was “very unlikely” Sirhan had acted under specific orders.
“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,” the assessment concludes.
The files reveal Sirhan’s handwritten notes, some composed weeks before the shooting. One reads, “Kennedy must fall Kennedy must fall. Please pay to the order of Sirhan Sirhan.”
Another describes Kennedy as a necessary “sacrifice” on behalf of “the poor exploited people.”
In response to the latest document release, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a statement in a June 12 press release from the CIA, welcoming the move and reflecting on its broader significance.
“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.”
CatholicVote previously reported on the broader declassification effort the Trump administration made regarding the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King Jr. That action, which involved releasing roughly 80,000 pages of documents, fulfilled a long-promised transparency pledge and set the stage for further disclosures by the CIA.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in the June 12 release that he is proud to be able to allow Americans access to the documents regarding RFK’s assassination.
He remarked, “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.”
