The National Archives have just now released the long-awaited ‘final instalment’ of the JFK assassination files, although – as many expected – in the end President Donald Trump ordered thousands of files to be withheld pending further review.
The released files, some 2800 in all, include FBI, CIA, and other agency documents identified as assassination records. But the spooks weren’t quite ready to let some of their documents out into the open, and Trump gave them six months to review and make a case for why they should be kept secret.
According to the New York Times:
President Trump ordered the long-awaited release on Thursday of 2,800 documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but bowed to protests by the C.I.A. and F.B.I. by withholding thousands of additional papers pending six more months of review.
…following a chaotic last-minute campaign by intelligence agencies lobbying for selected redactions, Mr. Trump agreed to postpone the disclosure of other documents while officials screen them again for sensitive information.
In a memo to government agencies involved in the process, the president ordered officials to report back by March 12 with any requests to further withhold information in those documents, and set a deadline for releasing all files by April 26 except those for which a compelling case has been made for continued secrecy.
You can browse through the files at the National Archives website – let us know if you find anything interesting!
