Beril Canakci
17 March 2025•Update: 18 March 2025
ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump said more key files, including those related to convicted pedophile and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, will be released soon.
In an interview on Sunday on the Full Measure news program, Trump said: "The Kennedy records are getting out. Those are the ones they really wanted to see the most."
Trump’s comments came after US Attorney General Pam Bondi's revelation that she received a "truckload" of unreleased Jeffrey Epstein documents from the FBI’s Southern District of New York, though she did not specify when they would be made public. Bondi said the DOJ (Department of Justice) would review the documents quickly and called for a "full report" on why they were held at the New York office.
Regarding the classified records related to the Kennedy assassination, Trump said that new documents had been uncovered, with "2,000 more documents" now available. He assured that the release of these files is progressing "pretty rapidly" and said it could happen within weeks.
Trump explained: "During my administration, as you know, I released a lot of them. But then a lot of people started coming in, people that I respected, people that worked for the administration, and they asked me not to release the rest."
Trump added that while he initially respected those requests, he now believes he may have made a mistake by withholding some documents. "I probably wish I did release the whole thing because I have no idea what's in there," he said.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th US president, was shot and killed on Nov. 22, 1963, while traveling in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. His assassination has remained one of the most scrutinized events in American history, fueling numerous conspiracy theories over the years.
Recently, the FBI uncovered 2,400 previously undisclosed records related to the assassination, found within 14,000 pages of documents during a review triggered by President Trump’s January 2023 executive order to release all JFK assassination files. These records, which were not submitted to the JFK Assassination Records Review Board or the National Archives, may contain critical details about the investigation that were kept secret for decades.
Ukraine war
Negotiations over a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war continue, with heavy aerial strikes ongoing through the weekend. Trump is working to gain Putin’s support for the 30-day ceasefire approved by Ukraine last week.
Asked if he had been speaking directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US president declined to go into detail but suggested that talks were ongoing.
"I don't want to say it, but we are dealing with him, and I think it's going reasonably well," he said, calling the situation "a very complex, bloody, terrible war." He noted that there is already a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine and expressed hope for one with Russia. "We will know a little bit more on Monday, and that'll be, hopefully, good."
Trump also shared his confidence that Putin would agree to a ceasefire, stating that if the Russian leader does not, it would be "bad news for this world because so many people are dying." He added: "I think he's going to agree. I really do. I think I know him pretty well and I think he's gonna agree."
US tariffs
On Feb. 10, Trump announced a global-level imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a vowed measure to foster the national industries and US producers. Canada has imposed retaliatory tariffs of the same percentage on nearly $30 billion worth of US imports.
Trump began by highlighting what he described as the US being "ripped off" by other countries, particularly Canada, due to imbalanced trade practices. He pointed to Canada's tariffs on US dairy products as an example. "Canada’s a disaster for us," Trump said, noting that US farmers face up to a 270% tariff on certain dairy products when attempting to sell them to Canada. "Nobody talks about that," he added.
"We're gonna make America rich again," Trump said. "We’re going to have tariffs on automobiles, steel, aluminum, copper, and many different things," he continued, stressing that the tariffs were a consistent part of his trade strategy.
