If you think the CIA keeping JFK files classified is just about history, think again. The real story isn’t what happened in 1963 — it’s what’s happening now.

Ben Shapiro recently asked, “Does it really matter who shot John F. Kennedy?” My answer is “yes and no.” If the question concerns whether finding out who shot Kennedy is the most pressing issue facing our country, I concur with Shapiro that the answer is clearly “no.”

But the release of 80,000 previously unseen documents isn’t just about who killed JFK. It’s about a long-standing pattern of deception, manipulation, and lawlessness from the highest levels of government — and that is one of the most pressing issues facing our country today.

The moment we stop asking questions is the moment when bad actors within our institutions know they can get away with corruption.

For over 60 years, the official narrative surrounding Kennedy’s assassination has been that Lee Harvey Oswald pulled off a near-impossible series of shots. The improbability of his success is heightened by puzzling facts, such as KGB reports that Oswald was a horrible marksman coupled with his subpar rifle.

This is the story we’ve been told to accept without question. But what we now know raises deeply troubling questions about what really happened and, more importantly, why the government is so determined to keep the whole truth from us.

Cracks in the narrative

The recent document release didn’t give us a smoking gun, but it did confirm a pattern of CIA malfeasance that should alarm every American.

We now have solid evidence that the CIA was running illegal domestic espionage operations — including spying on Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee in 1964. If the intelligence agencies were willing to illegally surveil a major political figure back then, what do you think they’re capable of now?

The unchecked power of our intelligence agencies did not begin or end with the Kennedy assassination — it is a systemic issue that continues to this day.

For decades, the intelligence community has fought transparency at every turn. Each time a president promises to release the complete JFK files, the CIA steps in to block key documents.

The most recent example came under President Biden, when CIA Director William Burns personally urged the White House to keep certain records classified. Burns, notably, was one of several government officials who met with Jeffrey Epstein — three times.

The same agency now citing “national security” concerns over files from the 1960s is the same one tied to Epstein. That connection alone should raise serious questions for every American.

Corruption beyond JFK

This pattern of deception extends far beyond the Kennedy assassination.

We’ve seen it in Benghazi, where Americans died, and the truth was buried under bureaucratic stonewalling. We saw it in the aftermath of 9/11, when former FBI agents alleged that the CIA was running an illegal domestic spy ring and even attempted to recruit two of the hijackers before the attack. And we’ve seen it in the blatant weaponization of intelligence agencies against political opponents — from the Russia collusion hoax to the unprecedented persecution of a sitting and former president.

In recent memory, critical evidence regarding the truth of what happened on January 6 — including text messages from Kamala Harris’ Secret Service detail — mysteriously disappeared. Or COVID-19, where intelligence agencies, including Britain’s MI6, have now admitted it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the virus was engineered in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. And yet for years, anyone who dared suggest such a possibility was smeared as a conspiracy theorist.

Always ask questions

Asking questions — whether it be about JFK’s assassination, Benghazi, COVID-19, or any other “conspiracy theory” — is critical. The moment we stop is the moment when bad actors within our institutions know they can get away with corruption. Rebuilding trust in our institutions begins with asking the right questions and identifying the infection to provide the proper remedy.

The intelligence community has operated with impunity for decades because we, the American people, have been conditioned to accept its narratives without question. The JFK files are not just about a 62-year-old assassination; they are a case study in how deep-state corruption endures and evolves.

If the CIA had nothing to hide, why is the agency still hiding it?

We need to rebuild trust in our institutions — not through blind faith but through real accountability.

America’s founders didn’t place their trust in government officials. They trusted the system of checks and balances designed to limit power. Those safeguards have eroded, but they can be restored.

We don’t need to believe in bureaucrats. We need a system that exposes the truth, prosecutes wrongdoing, and applies justice equally. Until that happens, public distrust will grow — and for good reason.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.