Here's what we know so far about the MLK files released by the Trump administration
The long-sealed files related to the FBI's yearslong surveillance of civil rights iconRev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.were released Monday by the Trump administration. Before that, the more than240,000 pageshad never been "digitized and sat collecting dust in facilities across the federal government for decades," the office of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saidin a statement. In the hours since the trove of documents was made available through theNational Archives and Records Administration, experts have said the files do not appear to include any major revelations. Here's what we know so far about the files: The internal FBI memos detail the investigation into King's assassination in 1968 and include the discussion of potential leads as well as documents related to James Earl Ray, King's convicted assassin, according to the Trump administration. The files include scans of black and white documents that were often composed by typewriter as well as a few pages in color. Some of the records include transcripts of wiretaps and electronic surveillance. David Garrow, a historian and author of a Pulitzer Prize biography of King, said the records offer an interesting procedural insight into the methods used by the FBI to surveil King, but so far, they don't appear to offer anything that could shift his perspective on the civil rights leader. "You have to know FBI numerical serialization practices to even understand what you're looking at," Garrow said about the documents. "It's almost akin to learning a foreign language." Garrow said the release also includes Freedom of Information requests filed by Ray. The King family has long objected to the release of the documents and urged the public to view the records "within their full historical context." "During our father's lifetime, he was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation," King's children, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, said in a joint statement postedon social media. The family, which was given advance access to the files, has denied Ray was solely responsible for the death of the civil rights leader. "While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods," the Kings said in their statement. "Those who promote the fruit of the FBI's surveillance will unknowingly align themselves with an ongoing campaign to degrade our father and the Civil Rights Movement," they added. But not everyone in the King family opposes the publication of the files. King's niece, Alveda King, an outspoken conservative who frequently diverges publicly from her family, has said she's"grateful to President Trump"for his "transparency" after the documents' release. The FBI surveilled King and his associates throughout the Civil Rights Movement. Under the direction of Hoover, the agency sought to undermine King's efforts to secure civil rights for African Americans by dredging up information that could tarnish his personal image and investigating his alleged ties to the Communist Party. "They treated him as an adversary – somebody who it would help to have dirt on," historian Jonathan Eig, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, "King: A Life,"told CNN's Zachary Wolf. In addition to surveillance, King's phone lines were often bugged, as well as the hotel rooms where he would often stay, Eig said. The FBI haspreviously releaseda memo that attempts to tie King to various communist influences and alleges financial improprieties at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights organization he led. The document also graphically describes King's history of adultery. When reviewing the documents, Garrow said, there are some instances where it helps to consider the source. Some documents were written to be "purposefully misleading" in keeping with an FBI internal practice of concealing information to prevent internal leaks. "If it's information coming from a human informant, you've got to be careful to consider how much self-serving or self-exaggerating BS there might be," Garrow said. "That's particularly the case with the informants that the FBI had in the US Communist Party." The documents were initially intended to remain under seal until 2027. However, President Donald Trump signed anexecutive order in Januarythat mandated the files be declassified and released. Their publication comes as the Trump administration continues to weather a barrage of criticism over its handling of the release of documents related to the case of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the investigationinto his underaged sex trafficking operation. Trump and Epsteinwere friendlyfor years before Epstein was charged with solicitation of prostitution in the mid-2000s. The administration is also facing backlash fromsome GOP lawmakers,who have rejected the president's insistence that there is no new information relating to Epstein's death – and they appear determined to force greater transparency. Garrow, the historian, told CNN he doesn't believe the timing of the King's records is connected to the Epstein case. He said he viewed communications between the King family and the Justice Department that warned of the documents' release before Trump's allegedlewd birthday letter to Epstein surfaced. But on Monday, Bernice King became yet another voice calling for the administration to be more transparent about Epstein. After the release of thousands of documents related to her father, Kingshared an impassive imageof the Civil Rights leader on social media, with the caption "Now, do the Epstein files." For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com
Here's what we know so far about the MLK files released by the Trump administration The long-sealed files related to the FBI's years...
