JFK Assassination Files Release Imminent
Today could well be a big day in conspiracy history, as President Trump is leaning heavily toward permitting the remaining documents associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to be made public.
As reported by ABC News, while roughly 88 percent of the records have been fully accessible to the public for about 30 years, and another 11 percent have been available in a redacted form, it is expected that all remaining files will be made available in full today, in compliance with a 1992 law.
According to the law, all classified government documents related to the 1963 assassination are to be released by October 26, 2017. The one qualifier is that the president, at his discretion, may decide to delay their release if he is informed by relevant agencies that making them public could jeopardize national security in some way.
Last Saturday, Trump tweeted his expectation that he would authorize full release of the documents, saying, “Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long-blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened.”
Ironically, some in the national intelligence community think release of the files may actually stoke conspiracy claims rather than put any to rest. “The president is releasing the documents even though the intelligence community would rather he not,” said Richard Clarke, a former advisor on counterterrorism to George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. “This will definitely stir up nationwide controversy.” The concern, notes Clark, is that some of the information contained in the files may be misinterpreted, and end up fueling the wild imaginations of some in the conspiracy theory community.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large