David Strom’s article on HotAir, “JFK Files: What Have We Learned So Far?” dives into the newly released 64,000 pages of documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, ordered by President Donald Trump. Strom, a self-described skeptic of conspiracy theories, initially expected little from the release but finds the early findings both shocking and damning—not for confirming a grand plot, but for exposing the U.S. government’s gross negligence and duplicity.
David Strom, HOT AIR: JFK Files: What Have We Learned So Far?
It’s a darn sight more than I expected.
I thought the files would be a complete dud, but it turns out that there is ample information in just the first few things that people have discovered to fuel the fever dreams of every conspiracy theorist in the world three times over and to give the most Establishment-minded normie reason to feel disgust at his government.
Strom highlights several revelations from the crowdsourced analysis of the files. First, the CIA had multiple warnings of a Soviet-backed plot to assassinate Kennedy, including a July 1963 alert from Soviet consuls to the State Department about Lee Harvey Oswald’s intentions and Jack Ruby’s subsequent role in silencing him. A Polish driver’s call on November 23, 1963, further warned of Soviet plans to pay a U.S. operative, flagged as a “top priority” by the CIA—yet nothing was done. The files also show the CIA tracked Oswald extensively, including his Mexico City visits, but ignored these red flags, suggesting a coverup not of their own plot but of their failure to act. Additionally, the documents reveal foreknowledge of other assassinations, like Martin Luther King Jr.’s, with details about James Earl Ray known five years prior.
Strom shifts his view on the orchestrator, moving from Cuba to the Soviet Union as the likely culprit, citing “powerful circumstantial evidence” of Soviet involvement. He argues this aligns with Cold War tensions, noting that President Lyndon B. Johnson’s fear of sparking World War III may have led to a deliberate suppression of the truth. Ultimately, Strom concludes that the files expose a government too incompetent and untrustworthy to be relied upon, shattering any illusion of its integrity or capability.
This release, while not rewriting the lone gunman narrative, paints a grim picture of systemic failure and secrecy, fueling both conspiracy theorists and those disillusioned with the establishment. It’s a stark reminder that the government’s first instinct is often to protect itself, not the public.