6 ms·

The secret JFK assassination files are finally here

themodelplumber 4y ago
The juice: https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release2022 https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release2022 Some interesting stuff in there, just from browsing the overview .XLSX file.
kranke155 4y ago
It’s amazing that in the scene in JFK he talked about how (I don’t remember the scene exactly) presidential records on the JFK assassination would be sealed until the 2030s, and how excited he was that his grandchildren would be able to read it. And even with all that pushback it’s still true. They keep releasing 70%, making that last bit of the documents that’s unreleased ever smaller. But there’s always something unreleased!
- psychphysic 4y ago
  Is there anything of interest in there? I imagine not 30% is quite a lot. Surely all the juicy stuff is held back.
  - floxy 4y ago
    Looks like we are now allowed to know that the CIA had agents in Australia but didn't want to admit it: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/104-10012-10080.pdf https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/10... ...was that really so secret 60 years ago that we had to keep the memo about the memo under wraps? And still so secret that even this revelation has so many redactions?
    - JosephK 4y ago
      Given their influence in the toppling of Australia's democratically elected prime minister in 1975, I'm not surprised.
      - psychphysic 4y ago
        Oh wow you nailed it I reckon. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-... I had no idea.
    - psychphysic 4y ago
      Curious. I believe at this point most of the world realises that the US intelligence has successfully infiltrated every nation ally or otherwise so quiet bizarre to redact. Edit: I hadn't read the reply below I think he nailed it. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-...
tareqak 4y ago
> In a memo, President Biden authorized more than 70% of the roughly 16,000 remaining files on JFK's death to "now be released in full." What about the remaining percentage? Why is that not being released?
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
  > 70% ... "now released in full." Is this the new "70% of the time it works every time"? (I get that "in full" means "not redacted" but it's still a funny juxtaposition of words.)
- ender341341 4y ago
  I wonder if it's along the lines of 30% of the pages have PII on them. something along the lines of "visited ${person} at their home located at ${address}" and they're censoring that portion? Will be interesting to see what all's been released, but I feel like at this point he (jfk) had so many enemies (Cuba/three letter agencies/mob) that short of someone coming forward with a confession and new solid evidence we'll never know much beyond Oswald. I do think most likely though that Oswald was just off his rocker.
  - nintendo1889 4y ago
    I think that they will release all the files eventually while leaving out actual secrets that would harm security, and also leave out the names of the people and the groups/societies/organizations/mafia who were responsible. In the 2017 release, some files were shown to have been rereleased with fewer redactions, while others had added redactions. This is not likely nefarious but due to either a different/newer team working on them, or a mistake, or perhaps changing to a different document system.
- refurb 4y ago
  It's usually because that information relates to other sensitive intelligence sources.
  - stjohnswarts 4y ago
orangepurple 4y ago
If they keep holding back documentation on a public event that occured decades ago the truth is certainly awful, along the lines of "Mossad/Shin Bet did it." If Russia did it the information would have been released by now due to total collapse of diplomatic relations.
- yucky 4y ago
  The most credible theory at this point seems to be that it was indeed a CIA operation and that George Bush Sr. ran the field ops on it. Too many pieces of evidence don't make any sense if he wasn't involved in the planning and cleanup portion. Sounds crazy reading the above, but as skeptical as I've been over the years of every theory, this is the closest to the truth based on the evidence that we have.
  - puffoflogic 4y ago
    I have no idea what evidence there is linking the former president to this, but anyways... If the big secret were that the CIA was involved, why would Trump have extended the secrecy? The CIA is supposed to be at the core of the deep state.
    - voltaireodactyl 4y ago
      Given how Trump abused the DOJ during his tenure, one might suspect that he was looking forward to employing the CIA to do the same to his own enemies.
      - orangepurple 4y ago
        Trump publicly called them Nazis; I doubt they're on good terms.
        voltaireodactyl 4y ago
        In my experience folks in that line of work couldn’t care less what’s said about them in public, so long as the budget is increased.
floxy 4y ago
Gotta love how this one needed to be secret for so long: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/104-10020-10016.pdf https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/10... "In summary, and based on the above information, it is concluded that the letter was transmitted via normal Swedish postal channels. The letter is probably a "crank letter", most likely written by a Swede, using a Swedish-keyboard typewriter and Swedish stationary."
- psychphysic 4y ago
  Im really worried this was not tongue in cheek and someone actually had to spend time doing this. The mere thought of this kind of bureaucracy requiring this lengthy reply to a nonsense letter worries me.

The juice: https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release2022 https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release2022 Some interesting stuff in there, just from browsing the overview .XLSX file.

kranke155 4y ago

It’s amazing that in the scene in JFK he talked about how (I don’t remember the scene exactly) presidential records on the JFK assassination would be sealed until the 2030s, and how excited he was that his grandchildren would be able to read it. And even with all that pushback it’s still true. They keep releasing 70%, making that last bit of the documents that’s unreleased ever smaller. But there’s always something unreleased!

psychphysic 4y ago
Is there anything of interest in there? I imagine not 30% is quite a lot. Surely all the juicy stuff is held back.
- floxy 4y ago
  Looks like we are now allowed to know that the CIA had agents in Australia but didn't want to admit it: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/104-10012-10080.pdf https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/10... ...was that really so secret 60 years ago that we had to keep the memo about the memo under wraps? And still so secret that even this revelation has so many redactions?
  - JosephK 4y ago
    Given their influence in the toppling of Australia's democratically elected prime minister in 1975, I'm not surprised.
    - psychphysic 4y ago
      Oh wow you nailed it I reckon. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-... I had no idea.
  - psychphysic 4y ago
    Curious. I believe at this point most of the world realises that the US intelligence has successfully infiltrated every nation ally or otherwise so quiet bizarre to redact. Edit: I hadn't read the reply below I think he nailed it. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-...

tareqak 4y ago

> In a memo, President Biden authorized more than 70% of the roughly 16,000 remaining files on JFK's death to "now be released in full." What about the remaining percentage? Why is that not being released?

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
> 70% ... "now released in full." Is this the new "70% of the time it works every time"? (I get that "in full" means "not redacted" but it's still a funny juxtaposition of words.)
ender341341 4y ago
I wonder if it's along the lines of 30% of the pages have PII on them. something along the lines of "visited ${person} at their home located at ${address}" and they're censoring that portion? Will be interesting to see what all's been released, but I feel like at this point he (jfk) had so many enemies (Cuba/three letter agencies/mob) that short of someone coming forward with a confession and new solid evidence we'll never know much beyond Oswald. I do think most likely though that Oswald was just off his rocker.
- nintendo1889 4y ago
  I think that they will release all the files eventually while leaving out actual secrets that would harm security, and also leave out the names of the people and the groups/societies/organizations/mafia who were responsible. In the 2017 release, some files were shown to have been rereleased with fewer redactions, while others had added redactions. This is not likely nefarious but due to either a different/newer team working on them, or a mistake, or perhaps changing to a different document system.
refurb 4y ago
It's usually because that information relates to other sensitive intelligence sources.
- stjohnswarts 4y ago

orangepurple 4y ago

If they keep holding back documentation on a public event that occured decades ago the truth is certainly awful, along the lines of "Mossad/Shin Bet did it." If Russia did it the information would have been released by now due to total collapse of diplomatic relations.

yucky 4y ago
The most credible theory at this point seems to be that it was indeed a CIA operation and that George Bush Sr. ran the field ops on it. Too many pieces of evidence don't make any sense if he wasn't involved in the planning and cleanup portion. Sounds crazy reading the above, but as skeptical as I've been over the years of every theory, this is the closest to the truth based on the evidence that we have.
- puffoflogic 4y ago
  I have no idea what evidence there is linking the former president to this, but anyways... If the big secret were that the CIA was involved, why would Trump have extended the secrecy? The CIA is supposed to be at the core of the deep state.
  - voltaireodactyl 4y ago
    Given how Trump abused the DOJ during his tenure, one might suspect that he was looking forward to employing the CIA to do the same to his own enemies.
    - orangepurple 4y ago
      Trump publicly called them Nazis; I doubt they're on good terms.
      - voltaireodactyl 4y ago
        In my experience folks in that line of work couldn’t care less what’s said about them in public, so long as the budget is increased.

floxy 4y ago

Gotta love how this one needed to be secret for so long: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/104-10020-10016.pdf https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2022/10... "In summary, and based on the above information, it is concluded that the letter was transmitted via normal Swedish postal channels. The letter is probably a "crank letter", most likely written by a Swede, using a Swedish-keyboard typewriter and Swedish stationary."

psychphysic 4y ago
Im really worried this was not tongue in cheek and someone actually had to spend time doing this. The mere thought of this kind of bureaucracy requiring this lengthy reply to a nonsense letter worries me.