The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has unveiled a significant declassification of documents pertaining to the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. On Thursday, over 1,400 pages were made public, offering a deeper understanding of the psychological profile of the convicted assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, and reaffirming the absence of any broader conspiracy.
Within these documents, a particularly chilling detail emerges from the handwritten notes of Sirhan, where he obsessively scribed, "Kennedy must fall Kennedy must fall. Please pay to the order of Sirhan Sirhan." This and other writings uncovered suggest Sirhan's preoccupation with the notion of political martyrdom, as one note expressed the need for Kennedy's sacrifice "for the cause of the poor exploited people."
The files feature two comprehensive psychological evaluations of Sirhan from June and July 1968. The later assessment, dated July 8, revealed an unexpected perspective from the agency: "Under no circumstances would we have predicted that [Sirhan] was 'capable' of committing the act he did." The report delved deeper, comparing Sirhan's impulsive nature to the assassins of Presidents Garfield and McKinley, rather than the more calculated culprits behind the Lincoln and John F. Kennedy assassinations.
Sirhan's psychological profile painted him as highly intuitive and intellectually capable, with a belief that communism might be an "ideal solution." The documents dispelled longstanding theories, confirming that Sirhan had no links to terrorist organizations or foreign entities, and was not part of any organized plot.
Responding to the release, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has harbored doubts about Sirhan's sole responsibility, commended the effort towards transparency. "I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency," Kennedy stated, expressing gratitude to Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe for their roles in making these documents public.
In 2018, Kennedy Jr. disclosed his prison visit to Sirhan, driven by a desire to understand the evidence, and his concern over a potential miscarriage of justice. His father's legacy also surfaced in these files, detailing Robert F. Kennedy's role as a voluntary informant during a 1955 trip to the Soviet Union with Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, a testament to his "patriotism and commitment" during the Cold War.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe reiterated the agency's fulfillment of President Trump's pledge for "maximum transparency." With this release, spearheaded by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the American people now have access to over 10,000 pages related to one of the nation's most intensely examined political slayings.
These declassified documents not only shed light on Sirhan's psychological state but also underscore Robert F. Kennedy's covert involvement with the CIA during a pivotal historical period. As the public and historians alike pore over these newly available records, the narrative surrounding RFK's death is enriched, though the core mystery remains unsolved.
