61 years later, JFK assassination records remain hidden — and Biden is to blame



Just days before the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 23, 1963, Americans are no closer to knowing the whole truth about what happened at Dealey Plaza in Dallas that day. In fact, the Biden administration is taking steps to ensure that the truth may never be known.

On Friday, Oct. 18, Joe Biden’s Justice Department took further action to block the release of secret records related to the assassination. The government filed a summary judgment motion to assert control over congressional records related to JFK’s murder. This marks the latest effort by the Biden administration, which has moved since 2021 to prevent the release of remaining assassination documents held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Each time the government attempts to conceal or restrict critical information about the assassination, it sparks a massive and visceral public reaction.

The Justice Department’s moves contradict the 1992 John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which explicitly prohibits the president from exercising authority over congressional and non-executive branch records. The JFK Records Act also mandated the full public disclosure of all assassination records by Oct. 26, 2017.

On Oct. 19, 2022, the nonprofit Mary Ferrell Foundation, a privately operated archive specializing in records related to the Kennedy assassination and other major events of the 1960s and 1970s, filed a lawsuit against Biden and the National Archives. The lawsuit demands the release of all assassination records in compliance with the 2017 statutory deadline. The suit also seeks court orders requiring the National Archives to maintain a complete public directory of assassination record identification forms and fulfill other responsibilities mandated by law.

The idea for the lawsuit emerged after two successive presidential administrations missed the deadline to release all assassination records. However, it was President Biden’s actions after 2021 that triggered the lawsuit. Biden’s decisions effectively dismantled the standards set by the JFK Records Act, allowing executive agencies like the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service to withhold records. These agencies, which have long resisted releasing assassination documents, have even admitted to destroying some of the records.

The Justice Department’s motion for summary judgment would undermine the intent of the JFK Records Act. The law aimed to strip executive agencies of their authority over assassination records and establish an accountable, enforceable process for reviewing and releasing these documents. From 1994 to 1998, the Assassination Records Review Board, an independent agency established under the law, issued legally binding orders to review, postpone, or release millions of documents. These decisions ensured that postponements adhered strictly to the limited criteria outlined in section 6 of the law.

The Justice Department’s attempt to assert presidential control over congressional records is especially baffling. Multiple sections of the JFK Records Act explicitly state that the president’s authority applies only to executive branch records. Section 9(d)(1) clearly limits presidential power, underscoring that it does not extend to congressional assassination records.

Section 7(l) of the JFK Records Act explicitly states that the House and Senate Oversight Committees retain ongoing control and oversight over the management of assassination records, even after the ARRB concluded its work.

When Congress passed the JFK Records Act 32 years ago, lawmakers expressed deep concerns that executive branch agencies, with their history of obstructing investigations into the assassination, would continue to block the release of records. The Senate unanimously ratified the Act and filed a report emphasizing its intent, providing an interpretive guide for courts to refer to in cases involving the Act. The Senate’s apprehension about presidential control over congressional records leaves no room for misinterpretation.

Since Kennedy’s assassination 61 years ago, federal agencies have aggressively collected and locked away documents and evidence related to his murder. Each time the government attempts to conceal or restrict critical information about the assassination, it sparks a massive and visceral public reaction. This occurred when the infamous Zapruder film was first broadcast in 1975, 12 years after the assassination, and again after Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning 1991 film brought public attention to the government’s secret troves of JFK assassination records.

“The JFK Assassination Chokeholds” chronicles over 60 years of government obstruction surrounding the Kennedy assassination. It details how recent presidential orders have effectively sealed thousands of records from public disclosure, directly violating the unanimous will of Congress and the expressed desires of the American people.

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Over 13,000 secret JFK assassination files released; what to expect and how to see formerly confidential documents



The National Archives and Records Administration released thousands of previously secret files related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.

At the age of 46, Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, as his motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

In 1992, Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act that "mandated that all assassination-related material be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration." The JFK Act required that all records related to the JFK assassination be released by October 2017, unless the publication would harm national security, intelligence sources, or violate privacy protections.

Last year, President Joe Biden delayed the most recent release of the government documents because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, the National Archives released a trove of 13,173 formerly confidential documents pertaining to the assassination of the 35th president of the United States. Prior to Thursday's release, the National Archives had published approximately 55,000 documents.

Politico reported that the release would not satisfy conspiracy theorists, and the files contend that Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin.

"The bill’s authors said they hoped to tamp down growing public speculation about a conspiracy in Kennedy’s death, especially the wild skepticism created the year before by Oliver Stone’s star-studded, conspiracy-laden film, 'JFK,'" CIA sources allegedly said. "The officials say there are no obvious bombshells in the material expected to be released today; there will be nothing to suggest Oswald was not the gunman in Dealey Plaza or — as many Americans believe — that there was a conspiracy in Kennedy’s death."

The sources contend, "The new information will be intriguing to historians and assassination researchers who have sought for nearly six decades to connect the dots about a turning point in American history — and to try to understand what possible justification the government could have to withhold any information at all about a president’s murder."

You can view the newly released JFK assassination files on the National Archives website.

On Thursday, Biden signed an executive order to set a new deadline of June 30, 2023, for the National Archives and federal agencies to release the remaining files.

"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," Biden said. "This significant disclosure reflects my Administration’s commitment to transparency and will provide the American public with greater insight and understanding of the Government’s investigation into this tragic event in American history."

Biden's order stated, "Agencies shall not propose to continue redacting information unless the redaction is necessary to protect against an identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure."

Biden delays release of JFK assassination files until nearly 2023, blames COVID-19 pandemic



Next month marks 58 years since former President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while in a motorcade driving in Dallas, Texas.

Some of the long-classified files related to the assassination of JFK have remained a secret to the public despite a law requiring them to be released in 2017. President Joe Biden will keep the classified documents hidden from the American people, and the files won't be released until nearly 2023. Biden blames the COVID-19 pandemic for not being able to release files regarding the assassination of then-President Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.

On Friday, Biden issued a press release titled: "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on the Temporary Certification Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy." The memo noted that the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause for the delay in the release of the records pertaining to the murder of Kennedy. The White House claims that the National Archives and Records Administration needs additional time to review whether it "agrees that each redaction continues to meet the statutory standard."

"The Archivist of the United States (Archivist), however, has reported that 'unfortunately, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the agencies' and NARA and that NARA 'require[s] additional time to engage with the agencies and to conduct research within the larger collection to maximize the amount of information released,'" Biden's memo states.

"The Archivist has also noted that "making these decisions is a matter that requires a professional, scholarly, and orderly process; not decisions or releases made in haste," the news release continues. "The Archivist therefore recommends that the President 'temporarily certify the continued withholding of all of the information certified in 2018' and 'direct two public releases of the information that has' ultimately 'been determined to be appropriate for release to the public,' with one interim release later this year and one more comprehensive release in late 2022."

"Temporary continued postponement is necessary to protect against identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure," Biden wrote.

Biden announced that the release of information regarding JFK's assassination is postponed until Dec. 15, 2022.

In 1992, Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act that "mandated that all assassination-related material be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration." The act also "requires all assassination records transmitted to NA for public disclosure to be included in the Collection and made available for public inspection and copying."

The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection "consists of more than 5 million pages of assassination-related records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and artifacts (approximately 2,000 cubic feet of records)."

"More than 250,000 records — more than 90 percent of the records agency's collection on the assassination — have been publicly released and 'only a small fraction' contain redactions," the New York Times reported. "But many of the records are available only to the public if they travel to the National Archives site in College Park, Md."

The JFK Act required that records concerning the John F. Kennedy assassination be released to the public on Oct. 26, 2017, 25 years after the JFK Act was signed.

In 2017, then-President Donald Trump released approximately 2,800 documents related to the assassination of the 35th president of the U.S., but "yielded to pressure from the FBI and CIA to block the release of other records to be reviewed further," according to Reuters.