Presidential Document2022-27812
Certifications Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
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Published
December 20, 2022
Signed
December 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 77967-77970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27812]
[[Page 77965]]
Vol. 87
Tuesday,
No. 243
December 20, 2022
Part II
The President
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Memorandum of December 15, 2022--Certifications Regarding Disclosure of
Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of
President John F. Kennedy
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 243 / Tuesday, December 20, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 77967]]
Memorandum of December 15, 2022
Certifications Regarding Disclosure of
Information in Certain Records Related to the
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
Section 1. Policy. As set forth in the Presidential
Memorandum of October 22, 2021 (Temporary Certification
Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records
Related to the Assassination of President John F.
Kennedy) (2021 Memorandum), in the President John F.
Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992
(44 U.S.C. 2107 note) (the ``Act''), the Congress
declared that ``all Government records concerning the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy . . . should
be eventually disclosed to enable the public to become
fully informed about the history surrounding the
assassination.'' The Congress also found that ``most of
the records related to the assassination of President
John F. Kennedy are almost 30 years old, and only in
the rarest cases is there any legitimate need for
continued protection of such records.'' In the 30 years
since the Act became law, the profound national tragedy
of President Kennedy's assassination continues to
resonate in American history and in the memories of so
many Americans who were alive on that terrible day;
meanwhile, the need to protect records concerning the
assassination has weakened with the passage of time. It
is therefore critical to ensure that the United States
Government maximizes transparency by disclosing all
information in records concerning the assassination,
except when the strongest possible reasons counsel
otherwise.
Sec. 2. Background. (a) The Act permits the continued
postponement of disclosure of information in records
concerning President Kennedy's assassination only when
postponement remains necessary to protect against an
identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence
operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign
relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the
public interest in disclosure. Since 2018, executive
departments and agencies (agencies) have been reviewing
under this statutory standard each redaction they have
proposed that would result in the continued
postponement of full public disclosure, with the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
reviewing whether it agrees that each redaction
continues to meet the statutory standard. In my 2021
Memorandum, the Archivist of the United States
(Archivist) explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had a
significant impact on the ability of agencies,
including NARA, to conduct this review and
comprehensive engagement, and the Archivist recommended
that I temporarily certify the records for continued
postponement for a limited period. In the 2021
Memorandum, I directed the completion of an intensive
1-year review of each remaining proposed redaction to
ensure that the United States Government maximizes
transparency by disclosing all information in records
related to the assassination, except in cases when the
strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise.
(b) Pursuant to my direction, agencies have
undertaken a comprehensive effort to review the full
set of almost 16,000 records that had previously been
released in redacted form and determined that more than
70 percent of those records may now be released in
full. This significant disclosure reflects my
Administration's commitment to transparency and will
provide the American public with greater insight and
understanding of the Government's investigation into
this tragic event in American history.
[[Page 77968]]
(c) In the course of their review, agencies have
identified a limited number of records containing
information for continued postponement of public
disclosure. NARA has reviewed these proposed redactions
and has coordinated with relevant consulting agencies,
where appropriate, to ensure that the proposed
redactions meet the statutory standard for continued
postponement. The Acting Archivist has recommended
certifying a small subset of the reviewed records for
continued postponement of public disclosure.
(d) The Acting Archivist has further indicated that
additional work remains to be done with respect to a
limited number of other reviewed records that were the
subject of agency proposals for continued postponement
of public disclosure. The Acting Archivist believes
such additional work could further reduce the amount of
redacted information. The Acting Archivist therefore
recommends that I temporarily certify the continued
postponement of public disclosure of the redacted
information in these records to provide additional time
for review and to ensure that information from these
records is disclosed to the maximum extent possible,
consistent with the standards of the Act.
Sec. 3. Certification. In light of the proposals from
agencies for continued postponement of public
disclosure of information in the records identified in
section 2(c) of this memorandum under the statutory
standard, and the Acting Archivist's recommendation, I
agree that continued postponement of public disclosure
of such information is warranted to protect against an
identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence
operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign
relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the
public interest in disclosure. Accordingly, by the
authority vested in me as President by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States of America, including
section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that
continued postponement of public disclosure of these
records is necessary to protect against an identifiable
harm to the military defense, intelligence operations,
law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations
that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public
interest in disclosure. All information within these
records that agencies have proposed for continued
postponement under section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall
accordingly be withheld from public disclosure. Further
release of the information in these records shall occur
in a manner consistent with the Transparency Plans
described in section 7 of this memorandum.
Sec. 4. Temporary Certification. In light of the
proposals from agencies for continued postponement of
public disclosure of information in the records
identified in section 2(d) of this memorandum under the
statutory standard, the Acting Archivist's request for
an extension of time to continue review of those
records, and the need for an appropriately thorough
review process, I agree with the Acting Archivist's
recommendation regarding temporary postponement.
Temporary continued postponement of public disclosure
of such information is necessary to protect against an
identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence
operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign
relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the
public interest in disclosure. Accordingly, by the
authority vested in me as President by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States of America, including
section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that
all information within these records that agencies have
proposed for continued postponement under section
5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall be withheld from public
disclosure until June 30, 2023.
Sec. 5. Release. Any information currently withheld
from public disclosure that agencies have not proposed
for continued postponement shall be released to the
public by December 15, 2022.
Sec. 6. Review. (a) From the date of this memorandum
until May 1, 2023, relevant agencies and NARA shall
jointly review the remaining redactions in the records
addressed in sections 2(d) and 4 of this memorandum
with a view to maximizing transparency and disclosing
all information in records concerning the
assassination, except when the strongest possible
reasons
[[Page 77969]]
counsel otherwise. Any information that agencies
propose for continued postponement of public release
beyond June 30, 2023, shall be limited to the absolute
minimum under the statutory standard. Agencies shall
not propose to continue redacting information unless
the redaction is necessary to protect against an
identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence
operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign
relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the
public interest in disclosure. In applying the
statutory standard, agencies shall:
(i) accord substantial weight to the public interest in transparency and
full disclosure of any record that falls within the scope of the Act; and
(ii) give due consideration that some degree of harm is not grounds for
continued postponement unless the degree of harm is of such gravity that it
outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
(b) If, by no later than May 1, 2023, NARA agrees
that a proposed redaction meets the statutory standard
for continued postponement, the Archivist shall
recommend to the President, no later than May 1, 2023,
that continued postponement of public disclosure of the
information is warranted after June 30, 2023.
(c) If, by no later than May 1, 2023, NARA does not
recommend that a proposed redaction meets the statutory
standard for continued postponement, agencies shall, no
later than May 15, 2023:
(i) withdraw the proposed redaction; or
(ii) recommend to the President, through the Counsel to the President, on a
document-by-document basis, that release of the information continue to be
postponed, providing an explanation for each proposed redaction of why
continued postponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable
harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or
the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs
the public interest in disclosure.
(d) In the development of the recommendations
described in this section, as questions arise about
particular proposed redactions, NARA shall consult, as
appropriate, with relevant agencies as described in
section 5(d) of my 2021 Memorandum.
(e) At the conclusion of the review described in
this section, any information withheld from public
disclosure that agencies do not propose for continued
postponement beyond June 30, 2023, shall be released to
the public by that date.
Sec. 7. Transparency Plans. As part of their review,
each agency prepared a plan for the eventual release of
information (Transparency Plan) to ensure that
information would continue to be disclosed over time as
the identified harm associated with release of the
information dissipates. Each Transparency Plan details
the event-based or circumstance-based conditions that
will trigger the public disclosure of currently
postponed information by the National Declassification
Center (NDC) at NARA. These Transparency Plans have
been reviewed by NARA, and the Acting Archivist has
advised that use of the Transparency Plans by the NDC
will ensure appropriate continued release of
information covered by the Act. Accordingly, I direct
that the Transparency Plans submitted by agencies be
used by the NDC to conduct future reviews of any
information that has been postponed from public
disclosure, including information in the records
described in sections 2(c) and 3 of this memorandum.
[[Page 77970]]
Sec. 8. Publication. The Acting Archivist is hereby
authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in
the Federal Register.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, December 15, 2022
[FR Doc. 2022-27812
Filed 12-19-22; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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