A renowned journalist argues that the JFK assassination files confirm the existence of the “deep state,” refuting claims that it is merely a conspiracy theory promoted by President Donald Trump and others. Glenn Greenwald pointed out a warning about CIA operations, issued in 1961 by President Kennedy’s top adviser, that appears in the newly released JFK files. In a 15-page memo, Arthur Schlesinger called for the disbandment of the intelligence agency, describing it as a “state within a state.”
“No one knows how many potential problems for US foreign policy — and how much potential friction with friendly states — are being created at this moment by CIA clandestine intelligence operation,” Schlesinger wrote at the time. The term “deep state” refers to the idea that a secretive network of influential individuals, often operating within official agencies, is covertly manipulating government policy.
The idea has been promoted by figures such as Trump, who once unveiled a 10-step plan to “dismantle the deep state.” Although skeptics dismiss it as a paranoid fantasy, Greenwald—renowned for breaking major stories—cited Schlesinger’s memo as evidence supporting the concept, the DailyMail.com reported.
“Liberals spent years screeching that anyone talking about ‘the Deep State’ was spewing fringe conspiracy theories, as if Sean Hannity invented the term,” Greenwald wrote earlier this week, a reference to the Fox News star. Meanwhile, JFK’s top adviser — a year after Eisenhower’s 1960 warning — warned the CIA had become ‘a state within a state.’”
The revelation is sure to reignite the long-held conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination, with some theorists claiming that the CIA either orchestrated the president’s murder or deliberately ignored warnings when he considered dismantling the agency.
More than 63,000 pages of records related to the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy were released on Tuesday following an order by Trump. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration posted roughly 2,200 files containing these documents on its website. Previously, the vast majority of the Archives’ collection—over six million pages of records, photographs, films, sound recordings, and artifacts related to the assassination—had already been made public.
Trump announced the release on Monday during a visit to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, stating that his administration planned to eventually release about 80,000 pages in total. “We have a tremendous amount of paper. You’ve got a lot of reading,” Trump said.