Luna Announces Task Force Hearing on the Declassified MLK Records; Luna Opens Hearing on Declassified MLK Records; Hearing Wrap Up: Government Should Restore Americans’ Trust in Its Record-Keeping by Promoting Transparency and Accountability
I will hold hearings and pursue declassification of federal records related to Martin Luther King Jr. and other sealed government files.
Occurrences
Luna Announces Task Force Hearing on the Declassified MLK Records
The Task Force is gathered here today to examine the benefits of declassification and how disclosure can restore confidence in the federal government and avoid abuses from ever happening again. ... It is the job of the Task Force to ensure that federal agencies comply with the Executive Order.
We have spent years seeking information on the assassinations of President Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Reverend King, and other government secrets without success. It is time to give Americans the answers they deserve, which is why I am honored to lead this bipartisan task force that seeks truth and transparency.
Evidence
Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna today announced a hearing titled “Declassified MLK Records: What They Reveal and Why They Matter.” The release says members will examine why some records concerning Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remain sealed and redacted and whether current standards for record declassification satisfy the public’s desire for transparency. The hearing was scheduled for Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Luna delivered opening remarks at the hearing on “Declassified MLK Records: What They Reveal and Why They Matter.” Her remarks called for transparency from the federal government on releasing records related to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and referenced President Trump’s executive order directing agencies to release extensive files.
NARA said it coordinated with ODNI and other federal agencies to identify, digitize, review and release more than 230,000 pages of records related to the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The release occurred on July 21, 2025 and was done in accordance with Executive Order 14176.
The committee’s task force page lists Anna Paulina Luna as Chairwoman of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, confirming the oversight vehicle through which she pursued hearings and declassification efforts remains active as of the current date.
Assessments
Luna directly delivered the action-based parts of the promise in federal office: as chair of the House task force, she announced and held a January 22, 2026 hearing on MLK records and used it to press for transparency and declassification. The broader release of more than 230,000 MLK-related pages was carried out by the executive branch under Executive Order 14176, so that portion is not solely attributable to her, but the promise was to hold hearings and pursue declassification rather than personally complete every release. Because she materially pursued the issue through an official oversight vehicle in the same congressional term, the promise counts as delivered.
Luna clearly fulfilled the hearings portion of the promise in office: as chair of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, she announced and then held a January 2026 hearing specifically on declassified MLK records. That is direct candidate-led delivery on the oversight/hearings commitment. There is also evidence that MLK-related records were in fact released in July 2025, but the record indicates that release was executed by the executive branch and National Archives under an executive order, not shown here as a result principally delivered by Luna herself. Because the promise combined two elements—holding hearings and pursuing declassification—and the evidence shows she did hold the hearing and advocated for transparency, but does not establish that she personally secured the declassification outcome for broader sealed files, the best judgment is partial fulfillment rather than full delivery.