Kennedy clan at war over release of long-secret JFK files: Here’s who’s on which side
The Kennedy clan is warring again — this time over the release of the feds’ classified files on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg accused the commander-in-chief of using his grandfather as a “political prop” in an X post made right after President Trump announced Thursday he was releasing the secret documents.
“JFK conspiracy theories — The truth is a lot sadder than the myth – a tragedy that didn’t need to happen,” wrote the 32-year-old Schlossberg, who has been known for oddball tweets in the past.
“Not part of an inevitable grand scheme,’’ he said. “Declassification is using JFK as a political prop when he’s not here to punch back. There’s nothing heroic about it.”
But Schlossberg’s cousin and JFK’s nephew, Trump ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr., balked at the assertion and hailed the president’s move.
“I’m very grateful to President Trump,’’ RFK Jr. told reporters, referring to the files’ upcoming release, while on Capitol Hill on Thursday prepping for his confirmation hearings as Trump’s controversial nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services.
“I think it’s a great move because they need to have more transparency in our government, and he’s keeping his promise to have the government tell the truth to the American people about everything,” said Kennedy, whose father, JFK’s brother Robert, was also assassinated and is the subject of files set to be released.
RFK Jr. has previously been at odds with Schlossberg and other members of the Kennedy dynasty, including over his anti-vaccine stance.
President Trump wasted no time signing a slew of executive orders on Day 1, including those that:
- Direct DOJ not to enforce TikTok “divest-or-ban” law for 75 days
- Halt 78 Biden-era executive actions
- Withdraw from the Paris climate accord
- End all federal cases and investigations of any Trump supporters
- Revoke protections for transgender troops
- Pardon about 1,500 people criminally charged in the Jan. 6 attack, while commuting the sentences for six
- Overhaul the refugee admission program to better align with American principles and interests
- Declare a national emergency at the US-Mexico border
- Designate drug cartels and Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations
- Reverse several immigration orders from the Biden administration, including one that narrows deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats or were stopped at the border
- Rescind a policy created by the Biden administration that sought to guide the development of AI to prevent misuse
- Rescind a Biden-era policy that allowed federal agencies to take certain initiatives to boost voter registration
- Rescind the 2021 Title IX order, which bans discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in education programs that get federal funding
- Revoke Biden’s recent removal of Cuba from US state sponsors of terrorism list
- Order federal employees back to work in office five days a week
- Order a federal hiring freeze, including exceptions for posts related to national security and public safety and the military
- Direct every governmental department and agency to address the cost-of-living crisis
- Restore freedom of speech and prevent censorship of free speech
- End the “weaponization of government against the political adversaries of the previous administration”
- Impose 25% tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada as of Feb. 1
- Reverse Biden sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank
- Reverse Biden order requiring 50% of new cars sold in 2030 be EVs
- Proclaim that there are two biological sexes: male and female
- End diversity, equity and inclusion programs within federal agencies
- Establish Department of Government Efficiency
- Institute enhanced screening for visa applicants from certain high-risk nations
- Reopen Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration
- Order attorney general, secretary of state and secretary of homeland security to “take all appropriate action to prioritize” prosecution of illegal aliens who commit crimes
- Withdraw US from Global Minimum Tax agreement
- Institute a 90-day pause in the issuance of US foreign aid
- Order the attorney general to pursue the death penalty for killing of a law enforcement officer or any capital crime committed by an illegal immigrant
- Order the secretaries of commerce and the interior to restart efforts to route water from California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state
- Withdraw the US from the World Health Organization
- Order Treasury Department to explore creation of External Revenue Service
- Revoke security clearances for ex-national security adviser John Bolton and 51 intelligence officials who said Hunter Biden laptop bore “classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation.
- Declare the border crisis an “invasion” and order the attorney general and secretaries of state and homeland security to “take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or remove any alien engaged” in such
- Formally rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and Alaska’s Mt. Denali to “Mt. McKinley”
Schlossberg’s mother, Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s daughter and RFK Jr.’s cousin, has called the health secretary nominee’s vaccine skepticism “dangerous.”
Schlossberg also has previously blasted his cousin on social media — in loopy posts that include him ripping off his shirt, singing, and adopting accents ranging from cockney British to a New York Jewish person.
Former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, whose dad was Ted Kennedy, the brother of JFK and RFK, joined RFK Jr. several years ago in pushing for the release of the FBI files on his uncles.
“I think for the good of the country, everything has to be put out there so there’s greater understanding of our history,” Patrick Kennedy told Politico in 2021.
