JFK assassination: Pressure heaped on Biden to reveal secret documents after failure to keep promise
Joe Biden (left) and JFK on the day of his assassination (right)
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John F Kennedy’s nephew has heaped more pressure on Joe Biden to reveal secret documents about the 35th President’s assassination after launching a petition in a bid to restore trust.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, who dropped out of the Democratic Party primary race to run as an independent, was just nine-years-old when he uncle was shot dead in 1963.
JFK was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in a motorcade during a visit to Dallas in Texas on November 22.
The truth behind assassination has been marred with controversy, with numerous conspiracy theories about the CIA, Mafia, KGB and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
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RFK Jr launched a petition which took aim at 2024 rivals Biden and Donald Trump.
It also suggested the records related to the JFK assassination, which were mandated for release under the Kennedy Records Assassination Act in 2017, needed to be made public to restore trust and transparency.
Despite obligations in legislation, both Trump and Biden refused to release the documents.
RFK Jr said: “John F Kennedy’s assassination left an indelible scar upon the American psyche.
“Everyone who was alive at the time can remember where they were on that day.
“Of all the legacies that my uncle left for our country, there is one that has not yet been fulfilled.
RFK Jr on the campaign trail
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“During his term in office, he upheld a vision of America as a nation of peace, a vision that was abandoned after his death.
“For the next 60 years, we maintained a military empire, squandering trillions of dollars as our economy hollowed out and our health and infrastructure decayed.
“My promise to the American people is that I will put us back on the road to peace that JFK led us toward when, shortly before his death, he issued a national security order to withdraw American advisers from Vietnam.
“We will instead take a path back toward peace and prosperity for our country.”
He added: “What is so embarrassing that they're afraid to show the American public 60 years later?”
The 69-year-old’s father Robert F Kennedy was also assassinated five-years later when the New York Senator was shot by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan just hours after winning the California primary.
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John F Kennedy
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RFK Jr believes his father’s death came as a result of a conspiracy.
He also previously claimed the Warren Commission into JFK’s assassination was a “shoddy piece of craftmanship”.
More than 20,000 people have reacted to the petition shared by the independent White House candidate.
However, Gallup revealed two-in-three Americans think JFK’s assassination involved a conspiracy.
Democrat voters and college-educated adults are less likely to say it was a conspiracy.
Around 65 per cent of American adults think Oswald worked in concert with others.
Senator Robert Kennedy speaking at an election rally
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But 29 per cent believe he was solely responsible for the shooting.
RFK Jr has recently demanded Biden grant him Secret Service protection after an armed gunman was arrested just two miles away from where his father was assassinated.
The 69-year-old’s campaign manager Dennis Kucinich said: “Although it is a well-known historical fact, apparently, in your case, it bears repeating: Mr Kennedy's uncle, President John F Kennedy, was assassinated.
“Mr Kennedy's father, Senator Robert F Kennedy, was assassinated while a presidential candidate.”
RFK Jr’s initial request was rejected after Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said it was "not warranted at this time”.
The Secret Service is legally required to protect presidential and vice presidential candidates and their families 120 days out from a general election.
Joe Biden (left) and Donald Trump (right)
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However, DHS acknowledged in its 2024 budget overview that recent requests for candidate protection were coming in earlier than in the past.
The requirement was brought in following RFK’s death in 1968.
A recent HarrisX opinion poll suggested RFK Jr could play a significant role in the 2024 US Presidential Election.
It put RFK on 16 per cent, behind Biden on 37 per cent and Trump on 43 per cent.
However, such a result would make RFK Jr the most successful third-party or independent candidate since Ross Perot won 20 million votes in 1992.
Perot’s involvement likely swayed the result one way or another as Bill Clinton defeated George H W Bush by just over five million ballots.