Trump's week in review: MLK FBI records released; new order seeks to 'save' college sports

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, July 26, 2025

1. FBI records on MLK Jr. released, prompting concerns from his family 

In a statement published Monday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of over 230,000 pages of documents related to the 1968 assassination of the late civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., for which James Earl Ray was convicted. 

"The documents include details about the FBI's investigation into the assassination of MLK — including the discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, and documents related to James Earl Ray's former cellmate, who stated he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot," the statement reads.  "Additionally, as James Earl Ray fled the country following the assassination, the release includes unique foreign evidence from a Canadian police department." 

Alveda King, the niece of the late civil rights leader, expressed gratitude to Gabbard and President DonaldTrump for "delivering on their pledge of transparency in the release of these documents on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr." King praised the development as "a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve."

While King's niece welcomed the release of additional information about her uncle's death, the civil rights leader's two surviving children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, issued a statement published Monday expressing concern that the documents' publication would lead to "attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods."

They asked "those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief." 

"The release of these files must be viewed within their full historical context," they added. "During our father's lifetime, he was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The intent of the government's COINTELPRO campaign was not only to monitor, but to discredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King's reputation and the broader American Civil Rights Movement."