National Archives concludes review of JFK assassination documents with 99% made public
Story by Sam Fossum • CNN
The National Archives has concluded its review of the classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, with 99% of the records having been made publicly available, the White House said Friday.
“This action reflects [President Biden’s] instruction that all information related to President Kennedy’s assassination should be released except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
President Joe Biden released a memo Friday certifying that the archivist had completed the review in May and affirmed the remaining documents authorized to be declassified had been released to the public – meeting a previously set June 30 deadline.
In 1992, Congress passed the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, in part prompted by furor caused by the conspiratorial Oliver Stone film “JFK.” The act dictated that all assassination records should be publicly disclosed by October 2017, but former President Donald Trump and Biden allowed multiple postponements on the advice of the FBI, the CIA and other national security agencies.
Trump ultimately released tens of thousands of documents, the majority of which include at least some redactions.
By December 2022, Biden had released more than 14,000 additional JFK assassination-related documents, at which point he ordered the archivist and relevant agencies to conduct a six-month review into the remaining records. More than 2,600 documents have been released since then, with 1,103 documents posted publicly Tuesday.
Kennedy’s assassination prompted a whirlwind of questions from the public and researchers, plenty of conspiracy theories and reflexive secrecy from the government. With each drop, historians have reviewed the documents with fine-toothed combs to ensure there are no new clues surrounding the assassination or novel pieces of historical information about CIA and FBI operations in the ’60s.
Biden on Friday also directed that remaining classified documents or redacted portions of documents be released on an ongoing basis when the underlying reason for their declassification is no longer applicable, according to the archivist and a White House official.
“The President also instructed agencies involved in this effort to provide NARA’s National Declassification Center (NDC) with transparency plans, which are available to the public here. NARA approved these plans, which will be used by the NDC to ensure appropriate continued release of information as specific identified harm dissipates, then triggering public disclosure,” the National Archives said in its release.
The Archives noted Friday that released documents are available for download and can be viewed here.
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