Weeks after Epstein file fallout, a new deadline looms in the release of the RFK and MLK files

Sunday marks the second deadline in an effort to release the RFK and MLK assassination files, just weeks after the fallout from the highly anticipated release of the Epstein files by the Department of Justice.

In light of President Donald Trump‘s executive order in January to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., the director of national intelligence (DNI) and other officials were expected to submit their proposed release plans for the RFK and MLK files on March 9. 

DNI and the attorney general were previously given a Feb. 7 deadline to submit their release plans for the JFK files. 

EPSTEIN FILES DEBACLE SPURS NEW INTEREST IN CONTENTS OF PROMISED RFK, MLK ASSASSINATION FILES

The RFK and MLK release plan deadline comes just weeks after the Justice Department revealed a batch of Jeffrey Epstein files in late February. Many of the documents publicized then had already been released during the federal criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and convicted accomplice. 

The lack of new material prompted an outcry and criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files – and questions about what the RFK and MLK documents could hold upon their release. 

Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed,” told Fox News Digital at the time that he expects “there will be news in there, but it’s not going to be something that turns upside down our understanding of what really happened with those cases.”

AG PAM BONDI SAYS FBI DELIVERED ‘TRUCKLOAD’ OF EPSTEIN FILES AFTER SHE PUT OUT HARD DEADLINE

Trump’s declassification executive order came after he promised to declassify the documents upon entering his second term while on the campaign trail, saying at the time, “When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth.”

The FBI said in a February statement that it had conducted a new records search in light of Trump’s executive order, saying at the time, “The search resulted in approximately 2400 newly inventoried and digitized records that were previously unrecognized as related to the JFK assassination case file.”

“The FBI has made the appropriate notifications of the newly discovered documents and is working to transfer them to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in the ongoing declassification process,” the agency continued. 

Fox News Digital reached out to DNI and the FBI for additional comment. 

PEDO ACT: LAWMAKER MOVES TO PROTECT EPSTEIN FILES, ACCUSES ‘CERTAIN FBI AGENTS’ OF TRYING TO DESTROY DOCS

After the Epstein file fallout, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent FBI Director Kash Patel a fiery letter accusing federal investigators in New York of withholding thousands of pages of Epstein documents. 

“I repeatedly questioned whether this was the full set of documents responsive to my request and was repeatedly assured by the FBI that we had received the full set of documents,” Bondi wrote. “Late yesterday, I learned from a source that the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein.”

Bondi told Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week that the DOJ had received a “truckload” of Epstein files from the FBI following the Friday 8 a.m. deadline she had imposed on the agency. 

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.