Tuesday saw the release of the remaining files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. These included details of a letter sent in 1994 to then-Senator Joe Biden, which described him as a “traitor” and was signed “John F. Kennedy Jr.”
An investigation conducted at the time found no evidence the deceased president’s son sent the letter, and the document was already in the public domain due to a prior freedom of information request.
Newsweek reached out to Biden via email for comment on Wednesday outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas is one of the most well-known events in modern American history. The subsequent Warren Commission concluded the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone, though various theories alleging a wider conspiracy have remained popular with the American public.
After it resurfaced thanks to Tuesday’s document release, the letter was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Biden critics, including Russell Brand and Newsmax host David J. Harris Jr., where it went viral, racking up millions of views.
Then-President Joe Biden speaking in North Charleston, South Carolina, on January 19, 2025. Then-President Joe Biden speaking in North Charleston, South Carolina, on January 19, 2025. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/GETTY
What To Know
The records released on Tuesday included a Federal Bureau of Investigation report on a handwritten letter dated 8/26/1994, which was sent to then-Senator Biden. The letter began “Dear Sen. Biden: You are a traitor…” and was signed by John F. Kennedy Jr., the late president’s son who died in a 1999 plane crash.
Comedian turned Christian commentator Russell Brand shared the letter on X, writing: “WAIT!! Did JFK Jr. warn us that Joe Biden was a traitor to America before he was killed!?” The post was widely shared, receiving over 65,000 likes and 2.9 million views.
David J. Harris Jr., a host on conservative-leaning network Newsmax, also shared the letter on X, writing: “NEW: JFK. Jr. called Joe Biden a ‘traitor’ in 1994. Joe was a senator then, decades before Joe Biden became President and compromised U.S. national security by assisting family members that sold foreign influence.”
Biden has consistently denied Republican claims that, as vice president, he used his office to support the business interests of his son, Hunter Biden.
The letter was also posted on X by “The Redheaded libertarian,” an account with over 860,000 followers that wrote, “In 1994, JFK Jr issued this message to Senator Joe Biden.”
Despite what several influencers said, the alleged letter to Biden was already in the public domain. Lead Stories reported it had been released in response to a previous Freedom of Information Act request, and it was shared on social media as early as 2020 by one X account.
Lead Stories noted that while the letter was signed “John F. Kennedy Jr.,” there is no indication he was the actual author. The FBI did investigate the letter, but the case closed in December 1994 with the agency noting that “although latent fingerprints were developed by the laboratory, there are no suspects at this time wherein latent comparisons can be made.”
The FBI described the author as “anonymous” in its documentation, indicating that it did not believe Kennedy Jr. was the real author.
What Happens Next
The files released this week didn’t contain any major bombshells challenging the official account of President Kennedy’s murder, though conspiracy theories will doubtless remain.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi released some files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, though they contained little new information, sparking a backlash from some conservatives on social media.
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