(PatrioticPost.com)- Last Thursday, the National Archives released over 13,000 files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But not everything was included.
In an executive order released on Thursday, President Biden withheld “a limited number of records” that unnamed agencies had identified as “containing information for continued postponement of public disclosure.”
According to the president’s order, acting Archivist Debra Wall recommended keeping some of the records from the public.
Biden wrote that he agreed that the “continued postponement of public disclosure” was warranted “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.”
The JFK Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 mandated that all government documents associated with the assassination be released by October 26, 2017.
When the deadline arrived, then-President Donald Trump ordered the release of many of the records but acceded to proposals from agencies for the continued redaction of some while continuing to shield others “because of national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns.”
Since entering office, Biden has continued the postponement of the release of some records, including his order last week.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last week that the president believes that all of the records should be released “to the greatest extent possible consistent” with national security.
In his order, the president directed Debra Wall to review the rest of the redacted records to determine what more can be made public. If Wall advises against any proposed redactions, the agencies involved must drop the proposals or make their case for redactions to the White House counsel on a document-by-document basis.
The National Archives said it was working with the Justice Department to determine whether the information in some withheld records was due to “grand jury secrecy” or being under court seal.
After the president’s directed review is complete, the additional information won’t become public until June 30, 2023.
