Trump Orders Declassification of Amelia Earhart Records

President Donald Trump on Sept. 26 directed his administration to declassify and publicly release all government records related to Amelia Earhart, announcing the order on his Truth Social account. He said he was responding to public interest and to a July appeal from Northern Mariana Islands delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds; researchers plan a South Pacific expedition later this year tied to searches around Saipan. Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished in July 1937 en route to Howland Island; U.S. authorities have long concluded their Lockheed Electra likely crashed after running out of fuel, though alternative theories persist. It is unclear what, if any, classified materials remain after nearly a century, though previously released FBI and Navy documents sometimes carried historical confidentiality markings. The announcement follows other declassification actions by Trump and drew social-media criticism and mockery from critics who said he should instead release long-sought Jeffrey Epstein files.