FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE JFK PAPERS

1 TOP SECRET NO MORE

More than 3,000 topsecret files relating to the murder of John F. Kennedy in 1963 will be released Thursday, to be pored over by historians and JFK enthusiasts for clues about his death.

2 THE BIG QUESTION

The documents are being published after Donald Trump announced last weekend that he would not block their release. They are expected to include testimony and letters from the heads of the CIA and FBI, Jackie Kennedy and the lawyer of a Mafia boss. It is hoped the files will answer some lingering questions, primarily: Did Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s assassin, work alone?

3 BLOCKBUSTER UNLIKELY

Gerald Posner, author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, said there was unlikely to be a “blockbuster” discovery, but the files could shed light on a trip Oswald made to Mexico City, a hotbed of communist activity at the time, just weeks before he shot Kennedy in Dallas. And they could explain why more was not done to investigate Jack Ruby, the Texas nightclub owner who shot and killed Oswald two days after Kennedy died, ending the chance of a full interrogation.

4 INTENSE INTEREST

Interest is expected to be intense: a trial run in July in which the National Archives released a fraction of the files led to a computer system crash. It remains possible that some files will still be kept back. Trump put a caveat to his announcement on Saturday by saying that the documents would be published “subject to the receipt of further information.”

5 ACTING ALONE

According to a poll in October, two-thirds of Americans still think Oswald did not act alone. “The tougher question has always been, did Oswald do it for himself or did he do it for someone else,” said Posner. “I can find no evidence that links him with a conspiracy.