Donald Trump released 2,800 secret documents pertaining to the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963, which were held by the National Archives. However, Trump blocked the release of some of the files, caving to pressure from the CIA and FBI. Those files are now under a six-month review.
“I am ordering today that the veil finally be lifted,” Trump wrote the agencies in a memo. But after the last minute nudge to hold off on releasing some of the documents, he said, “I have no choice — today — but to accept those redactions rather than allow potentially irreversible harm to our nation’s security.”
WikiLeaks, however, found the president's decision to block the remaining files as unacceptable. On Thursday night, the organization offered a reward of $100,000 for the withheld secret documents that were planned for release.
The CIA issued a statement explaining that 69,000 of the 87,000 John F. Kennedy assassination files have been released in their entirety and that the redacted parts of the withheld files reflect less than 1 percent of the entire 1963 assassination-related case.
The CIA alleged that the redactions were necessary because the remaining documents contained information that could pose a threat to national security. Almost five decades later.
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According to the AP, "The agency says the redactions hide the names of CIA assets and former and current CIA officers as well as specific intelligence methods and partnerships that remain viable to protect national security."
Jim Acosta, senior White House correspondent for the White House, unsurprisingly couldn't obtain further information about the files.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange believes the redaction review period was a move against Trump by Capitol Hill.
"US intelligence agencies seem to be determined to make Trump look weak by delaying JFK files after he promised their release today," he posted on Twitter. "The agencies have had literally 25 years to prepare for the scheduled release today. The delay is inexcusable."
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Apparently, 54 years was not enough for the case to remain shrouded in secrecy.
The assassination case has long been studied and exhaustively researched by conspiracy theorists, but Trump's deferral to the agencies only heightens suspicions that the government is still concealing some sort of bombshell evidence.
But Administration officials insist that there are no major revelations that will change the narrative of Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone, and careful measures are being implemented to avoid compromising national security and intelligence gathering protocol.
Are the released findings enough to satisfy conspiracy theorists looking for more? Probably not, but the ancillary details that emerged after the assassination is still creating a discussion, including mention of the Soviet Union's response, who assumed it was a "coup" by the "ultra-right."
Still, people aren't buying the threat to national security being relevant in 2017.
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H/T - nytimes, nydailynews, apnews, twitter
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