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| Limited Kennedy Assassination Files to Be Released After Intelligence Agencies Object | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The federal government moved on Thursday toward releasing 2,800 documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a treasure trove for investigators, historians and conspiracy theorists who have spent more than half a century searching for clues to what really happened in Dallas on that fateful day in 1963. | WASHINGTON — The federal government moved on Thursday toward releasing 2,800 documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a treasure trove for investigators, historians and conspiracy theorists who have spent more than half a century searching for clues to what really happened in Dallas on that fateful day in 1963. |
| The papers were being posted online by the National Archives and Records Administration in compliance with a 1992 law requiring their release after 25 years. But following a chaotic last-minute review in which intelligence agencies lobbied for selected redactions, President Trump agreed to postpone the release of thousands more documents that were supposed to be made public pending a review that should end on April 26. | The papers were being posted online by the National Archives and Records Administration in compliance with a 1992 law requiring their release after 25 years. But following a chaotic last-minute review in which intelligence agencies lobbied for selected redactions, President Trump agreed to postpone the release of thousands more documents that were supposed to be made public pending a review that should end on April 26. |
| “I am ordering that the veil finally be lifted,” Mr. Trump said in a memo to government agencies involved in the process. But given the concerns raised by the intelligence officials, “I have no choice today but to accept those redactions.” | “I am ordering that the veil finally be lifted,” Mr. Trump said in a memo to government agencies involved in the process. But given the concerns raised by the intelligence officials, “I have no choice today but to accept those redactions.” |
| The decision to postpone release of some documents invariably will lead to suspicions that the government is still protecting secrets about the case. Administration officials said there was no cover-up, just an effort to avoid compromising national security, law enforcement or intelligence gathering methods. | The decision to postpone release of some documents invariably will lead to suspicions that the government is still protecting secrets about the case. Administration officials said there was no cover-up, just an effort to avoid compromising national security, law enforcement or intelligence gathering methods. |
| For conspiracy theorists, the Kennedy assassination has been the holy grail, one that has produced an endless string of books, reports, lectures, articles, websites, documentaries and big-screen Hollywood movies. It was the first murder of an American president in the television age, touching off a wave of global grief for a charismatic young leader while also spawning a cottage industry of skeptical questioning of the official version of events. | For conspiracy theorists, the Kennedy assassination has been the holy grail, one that has produced an endless string of books, reports, lectures, articles, websites, documentaries and big-screen Hollywood movies. It was the first murder of an American president in the television age, touching off a wave of global grief for a charismatic young leader while also spawning a cottage industry of skeptical questioning of the official version of events. |
| Every government authority that has examined the investigation of his death, from the Warren Commission to congressional committees, has concluded that Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired three shots with a mail-order rifle from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository when the presidential motorcade passed by on Nov. 22, 1963. But that has never satisfied the doubters, and polls have consistently shown that most Americans still believe that someone other than Oswald must have been involved. | Every government authority that has examined the investigation of his death, from the Warren Commission to congressional committees, has concluded that Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired three shots with a mail-order rifle from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository when the presidential motorcade passed by on Nov. 22, 1963. But that has never satisfied the doubters, and polls have consistently shown that most Americans still believe that someone other than Oswald must have been involved. |
| Did Oswald secretly work for the C.I.A. or F.B.I.? The Cubans or the Soviets? Or maybe the Mafia? Was there more than one gunman? Was the president actually shot from a grassy knoll in front of the motorcade? Did someone order Jack Ruby to kill Oswald? Did the C.I.A., F.B.I. or Secret Service miss opportunities to prevent the assassination? Was Lyndon B. Johnson somehow behind it, as Roger J. Stone Jr., an adviser, to Mr. Trump has asserted? Was the father of Senator Ted Cruz involved, as Mr. Trump alleged last year? | Did Oswald secretly work for the C.I.A. or F.B.I.? The Cubans or the Soviets? Or maybe the Mafia? Was there more than one gunman? Was the president actually shot from a grassy knoll in front of the motorcade? Did someone order Jack Ruby to kill Oswald? Did the C.I.A., F.B.I. or Secret Service miss opportunities to prevent the assassination? Was Lyndon B. Johnson somehow behind it, as Roger J. Stone Jr., an adviser, to Mr. Trump has asserted? Was the father of Senator Ted Cruz involved, as Mr. Trump alleged last year? |
| In theory, the release of documents on Thursday marks the beginning of the end of the disclosure of the assassination archives. But historians warned that even the final batch of documents may not definitively satisfy the skeptics. And it may take weeks, months or even longer to fully examine the documents released on Thursday, which could number in the tens of thousands of pages. | In theory, the release of documents on Thursday marks the beginning of the end of the disclosure of the assassination archives. But historians warned that even the final batch of documents may not definitively satisfy the skeptics. And it may take weeks, months or even longer to fully examine the documents released on Thursday, which could number in the tens of thousands of pages. |
| The release of the documents owes as much to the moviemaker Oliver Stone as anyone else. His 1991 blockbuster movie, “J.F.K.,” starred Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison, the New Orleans district attorney who pursued conspiracy theories about the assassination. While the movie was panned by many scholars, Mr. Stone included a title card at the end noting that records were closed until 2029, fueling suspicions. | The release of the documents owes as much to the moviemaker Oliver Stone as anyone else. His 1991 blockbuster movie, “J.F.K.,” starred Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison, the New Orleans district attorney who pursued conspiracy theories about the assassination. While the movie was panned by many scholars, Mr. Stone included a title card at the end noting that records were closed until 2029, fueling suspicions. |
| Congress stepped in and passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush on Oct. 26, 1992. The act mandated that all records concerning the assassination should be released no later than 25 years from that date, which is Thursday, unless the sitting president at the time authorized further withholding. | Congress stepped in and passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush on Oct. 26, 1992. The act mandated that all records concerning the assassination should be released no later than 25 years from that date, which is Thursday, unless the sitting president at the time authorized further withholding. |
| The database that was created as a result of the law contains information on more than 319,000 documents, according to the archives. In the years since the law was passed, the archives has released 88 percent of those documents in full and an additional 11 percent with portions redacted. Until Thursday, just 1 percent had been withheld in full. Most remained secret because they were declared “not assassination related” or “not believed relevant.” | The database that was created as a result of the law contains information on more than 319,000 documents, according to the archives. In the years since the law was passed, the archives has released 88 percent of those documents in full and an additional 11 percent with portions redacted. Until Thursday, just 1 percent had been withheld in full. Most remained secret because they were declared “not assassination related” or “not believed relevant.” |
| Officials said many of those were documents created as late as the 1990s to explain to members of the document review board how intelligence collection worked and were not specific to the Kennedy case, but could reveal methods that should remain protected. | Officials said many of those were documents created as late as the 1990s to explain to members of the document review board how intelligence collection worked and were not specific to the Kennedy case, but could reveal methods that should remain protected. |
| But egged on by Mr. Stone, Mr. Trump seemed eager to get the papers out. “So interesting!” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. | But egged on by Mr. Stone, Mr. Trump seemed eager to get the papers out. “So interesting!” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. |