The National Archives on Tuesday released thousands of pages of declassified records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
The records were posted to the National Archives’ website Tuesday evening.
“This release consists of approximately 80,000 pages of previously-classified records that will be published with no redactions,” said the announcement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “Additional documents withheld under court seal or for grand jury secrecy, and records subject to section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, must be unsealed before release.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 23 directing the release of the remaining records, saying it was in the “public interest” to do so.
On Monday Trump announced to reporters that the administration would begin releasing the records on Tuesday, prompting a scramble inside the Justice Department to free up attorneys to assist with the declassification process.
President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and others smile at the crowds lining their motorcade route in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 22, 1963.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Congress voted in 1992 to require the government to release and declassify all assassination-related records by 2017, but that deadline was repeatedly pushed back by Trump and President Joe Biden due to national security concerns.
Tuesday’s release represents a small, outstanding tranche of the more than six million pages of records collected by the National Archives — the majority of which have already been declassified and are available online or in person for review, according to the agency.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
