Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced sharp criticism on Monday after her office released a trove of 230,000 files related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination instead of releasing more of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The move to release the MLK files happened at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to distance itself from the Epstein files saga. President Donald Trump has attacked some of his supporters as "stupid" and "weaklings" for continuing to talk about the files. Meanwhile, media outlets like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal continue to publish stories about the ties between Trump and Epstein.
"While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve," Gabbard said in a news release.
The release of the files garnered a strong reaction on social media, including from members of the King family, who opposed their release.
"While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our father’s legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods," Martin Luther King III and Bernice King said in a joint statement posted on X. "We strongly condemn any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our father’s legacy and the significant achievements of the movement. Those who promote the fruit of the FBI’s surveillance will unknowingly align themselves with an ongoing campaign to degrade our father and the Civil Rights Movement."
"In a desperate attempt to distract from the Trump administration’s decision to block the release of the Epstein files (despite earlier promises), DNI Tulsi Gabbard has released FBI records on MLK Jr., despite his family’s opposition," Republicans Against Trump posted on X.
"This is nothing but a distraction from the lack of the release of the Epstein files!" Ed Krassenstein posted on X. "Release the Epstein files now! What are they hiding?"
"BREAKING: @pambondi tries to bury her Epstein coverup under MLK files," journalist Marcy Wheeler posted on X.
