National Archives Declassifies 13,173 Documents on Kennedy Assassination
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The National Archives on Thursday released 13,173 unredacted documents relating to President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination.
The Details: The documents released Thursday included information about Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's extensive CIA "personality file," which the agency said was created three years before the assassination. Newly-released files also shine light on undercover CIA surveillance of Oswald when he visited Mexico City in September 1963, several weeks before the assassination. Those files suggest that Oswald made contact with Soviet and Cuban spies on the trip, including an assassination specialist, and that CIA operatives in Mexico City possibly mismanaged evidence that could have saved Kennedy’s life if it was relayed to the Secret Service more quickly.
For Context: The release followed an executive order from President Joe Biden authorizing their publication. Thousands more documents remain classified; the National Archives says more than 97% of the collection's records are now publicly accessible. Last year, Biden postponed the release, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave the National Archives one year to review documents before they were released. That deadline expired Thursday.
How the Media Covered It: The release was a top story across the political spectrum Thursday evening. Sources on both left and right highlighted how many documents remain classified. Many reports also cited officials who said the files were unlikely to include anything suggesting that Oswald wasn't the killer or that Kennedy's killing was part of a government conspiracy.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
The secret JFK assassination files are finally here
The National Archives on Thursday released thousands of secret documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Driving the news: In a memo, President Biden authorized more than 70% of the roughly 16,000 remaining files on JFK's death to "now be released in full." The decision came after a "comprehensive effort to review" the files over the last year, Biden stated.
Biden said all documents on JFK's assassination should be shared with the public "except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise."
"The profound national tragedy of President Kennedy's assassination continues to...
From the Right
National Archives releases more than 13,000 classified JFK files
he National Archives on Thursday released 13,173 unredacted documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, offering historians and conspiracy hunters a fresh trove of details.
It came soon after President Joe Biden issued an executive order authorizing their publication, while keeping thousands more documents from public view.
'Pursuant to my direction, agencies have undertaken a comprehensive effort to review the full set of almost 16,000 records that had previously been released in redacted form and determined that more than 70 percent of those records may now be released in full,'...
From the Left
Biden releases most JFK assassination records — but withholds thousands 
President Joe Biden’s administration released more than 13,000 records of President John F. Kennedy's assassination Thursday, but it fell short of fully complying with the spirit of a 30-year-old law demanding transparency by now.
With Thursday's action, about 98% of all documents related to the 1963 killing have now been released and just 3% of the records remain redacted in whole or in part, according to the National Archives, which controls the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection.
The records include more information on accused gunman Lee Harvey Oswald and his time spent in...
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May 20th, 2024
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