RFK Files: A Look Inside (Part 1)

57 years after a California jury convicted Sirhan #Sirhan for the murder of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. National Archives is finally releasing tens of thousands of formerly-secret documents related to the assassination.

The 24 year-old Palestinian immigrant shot #RFK in a fury over the 1968 presidential candidate's support for arming #Israel with 50 Phantom jets.

When Sirhan was apprehended by Sen. Kennedy's bodyguards in the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel on the night of June 5, 1968, he reportedly shouted "I did it for my country!"

His country was #Palestine.

It was the first act of Palestinian terror on American soil -- sparking five and a half decades more of skyjackings, hostage-takings, #terrorism, and war that continues today in the Middle East.

The release continued disclosures of national secrets ordered by Donald #Trump after he began his second presidency in January. It comes a month after thousands more unredacted files related to the 1963 #JFK assassination were disclosed. 

Lawyers for #Kennedy’s killer have said for decades that he is unlikely to reoffend or pose a danger to society. In 2021, a parole board deemed Sirhan suitable for release. But the California governor, Gavin Newson, rejected the decision in 2022. In 2023, a different panel denied him release, saying he still lacks remorse and/or understanding of what caused him to shoot Kennedy. Sirhan, now 81, still sits in prison.

The late senator’s son Robert F Kennedy Jr, who now serves as Trump’s health and human services secretary, commended the president and his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, for what he called their “courage” and “dogged efforts” to release the files.

“Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” Kennedy Jr said in a statement.

Who Killed Bobby Kennedy?

I devoted much of 2024 to a re-examination of Sirhan's case -- reviewing original evidence and testimony presented by both the prosecution and the defense -- in the production of my 13-part true crime podcast series, Who Killed Bobby Kennedy?

Now that I've had time to review the first tranche of these newly-released #RFKFiles (about 10,000 pages -- another 64,000 pages were just released last week, with more reportedly to come), I made many new discoveries within that provide fascinating insights and context to our understanding of this historic murder case.

Those findings are presented in a NEW episode of my #truecrime podcast series, which takes viewers on a guided tour of the most important documents I've found in the archives so far.

Among the boxes of long-secret files were never-before-seen photographs of RFK's autopsy taken by then-Los Angeles County Coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi. Because the photos are extremely graphic they are not included here, as showing them would violate the community guidelines of platforms such as YouTube that host this podcast series, and go against the wishes of the Kennedy family, who have asked responsible journalists not to disseminate them.

It took seven months and 14 episodes to at last unravel the full truth. It's all here. Everything you ever wanted to know about the murder of Bobby Kennedy; from the archives of federal government agencies -- the FBI, CIA, Department of Justice, State Department, and the White Houses of every president from #LBJ to #Obama.

Why were these documents kept secret for nearly six decades? What was the perceived risk to National Security? What did the government NOT want us to know abut the RFK assassination?

I'll unravel it in this special bonus episode of the "Who Killed Bobby Kennedy" series.

Don't miss the YouTube premiere live May 12 at 9 PM Eastern. (Set a reminder at the link below.)

It is my hope that you find this series as interesting and enlightening as I did putting it all together. Producing "Who Killed Bobby Kennedy" involved a lot of hard work, and I'd like to thank everyone who assisted and participated. Most of all, I'd like to thank YOU for watching!

Watch all episodes for free in this YouTube playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXBcSYiYQxldlHGAjTPLcdyXmDNa2Ny0W&si=MPHh2WZEJSbTjoog