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WASHINGTON, December 15, 2021 – In accordance with President Biden’s directive of October 22, 2021, the National Archives today posted 1,491 documents subject to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (JFK Act). The released documents are available for download.
The John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, established by the National Archives in November 1992, consists of approximately five million pages. The vast majority of the collection has been publicly available without restrictions on access since the late 1990s. As permitted by the JFK Act, agencies appealed to the President to continue postponement of certain information beyond October 22, 2021.
The President provided agencies with a temporary certification until December 15, 2022, to allow for a review of all documents withheld in full or in part under section 5 of the JFK Act and directed agencies to “to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency, disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise.”
As of December 15, 2021, all documents subject to section 5 of the JFK Act have been released in full or in part. No documents subject to section 5 of the JFK Act remain withheld in full. Over the next year, the National Archives and the agencies proposing continued postponement of more than 14,000 previously withheld documents will be conducting an intensive review of each remaining section 5 redaction to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency. Any information currently withheld from public disclosure that agencies do not propose for continued postponement beyond December 15, 2022, will be released to the public on that date.
Online Resources:
The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection
Documenting the Death of a President
JFK Assassination Records Review Board
JFK Assassination Records FAQs
