Trump says he’ll allow the release of the JFK assassination files, and, uh, this could be huge

Saturday morning on Twitter, President Trump announced that he’ll allow the release of classified files about President JFK’s assassination. The files have been held at the National Archives for years and, according to The New York Times, contain “several thousand never-before-seen documents.” This may seem like a random announcement, which wouldn’t be out of character for the often erratic president. However, it actually comes at an important time for the Kennedy assassination records. A 1992 mandate requires that millions of pages of these documents be released by October 26, 2017, and only the president has the power to extend the secrecy of the files.

While many expected Trump to block the release, he’s allowing it to happen as scheduled.

People on Twitter are reacting accordingly, because this news is huge.

However, not all of the papers relating to the investigation following Kennedy’s shocking assassination on November 22 1963, have been released by the National Archives. The files were released either in full or were partially redacted, but the fact that files still remain classified suggests that the government still wishes to keep certain aspects of the assassination secret.

Naturally, conspiracy theories have loomed around the JFK assassination over the years.

In classic Trump form, this move to release the documents is likely an act of defiance to maintain a reputation of absolute autonomy. According to the The Washington Post, the National Security Council stated that government agencies had urged the president not to release some of the documents.

Of course, Twitter is also responding with jokes about Ted Cruz.

Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, was photographed with the man who assassinated John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, before the killing. During his 2016 campaign, Trump himself even mentioned the conspiracy theory by suggesting that Rafael Cruz — and by association, Ted Cruz — had ties to Oswald.

Of all the secrets that world’s events that Trump could be addressing right now, this seems like a pretty odd choice. There might be more relevant investigations to discuss, like the investigation of the Niger ambush, as one Twitter user points out.

But this is still pretty exciting news. Whether or not Trump actually allows all of the remaining classified files about JFK’s assassination to become public will be revealed in time. Like, in the next five days. But plenty of Americans will be eagerly awaiting the info dump.