Presidential Document2023-14499
Certification Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 7, 2023
Signed
June 30, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43247-43249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14499]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 129 / Friday, July 7, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 43247]]
Memorandum of June 30, 2023
Certification 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. In the three decades since the
President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records
Collection Act of 1992 (44 U.S.C. 2107 note) (the
``Act'') was enacted, the United States Government has
undertaken a comprehensive review of its records and
has strived to make available to the public thousands
of classified documents that provide a fuller
understanding of the tragic assassination of President
John F. Kennedy. As I have reiterated throughout my
Presidency, I fully support the Act's aim to maximize
transparency by disclosing all information in records
concerning the assassination, except when the strongest
possible reasons counsel otherwise. Executive
departments and agencies (agencies) have worked
meticulously over thousands of hours of review to
ensure that the American people have access to every
single word that is appropriate for release under the
standards of the Act. With my final certification made
in this memorandum--the last required under the Act--
and definitive plans for future disclosures, my
Administration is fulfilling the promise of
transparency to the American people.
Sec. 2. Background. (a) The Act permits the continued
postponement of public 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.
Agencies have applied this statutory standard when
proposing the continued postponement of public
disclosure of specific information, and the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has reviewed
each of these redactions to determine whether NARA
agrees that these redactions continue to meet the
statutory standard. In the Presidential Memorandum of
December 15, 2022 (Certifications Regarding Disclosure
of Information in Certain Records Related to the
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy) (December
2022 Memorandum), I certified the temporary continued
postponement of public disclosure of redacted
information in a small number of records covered by the
Act. At the time, the Acting Archivist of the United
States (Acting Archivist) advised that a limited number
of records that were the subject of agency proposals
for temporary continued postponement warranted further
review to ensure that information from these records is
disclosed to the maximum extent possible, consistent
with the standards of the Act. In the December 2022
Memorandum, consistent with that advice, I directed
agencies to continue to work with NARA to review these
records to determine if additional information proposed
for redaction could be disclosed.
(b) On May 1, 2023, the Acting Archivist informed
me that the review process was complete and recommended
that I postpone the public release of certain redacted
information in the records certified for temporary
postponement of public release in the December 2022
Memorandum.
Sec. 3. Certification. In light of the recommendation
for continued postponement of public release of
information in the records identified in section 2(b)
of this memorandum under the statutory standard, I
hereby certify,
[[Page 43248]]
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, that
continued postponement of public disclosure of that
information is necessary to protect against
identifiable harms to the military defense,
intelligence operations, law enforcement, and the
conduct of foreign relations that are of such gravity
that they outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
All information within these records that has been
proposed for continued postponement under section
5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall accordingly be withheld
from public disclosure. Future release of the
information in these records shall occur in a manner
consistent with the Transparency Plans described in
section 5 of this memorandum.
Sec. 4. Release. Any information currently withheld
from public disclosure under section 4 of the December
2022 Memorandum that is not subject to the
certification in section 3 of this memorandum shall be
released to the public by June 30, 2023.
Sec. 5. 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 were
reviewed by NARA, and the Acting Archivist previously
advised me that use of the Transparency Plans by the
NDC will ensure appropriate continued release of
information covered by the Act. In the December 2022
Memorandum, I directed 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. On May 1, 2023, the
Acting Archivist recommended continued use of agencies'
Transparency Plans to release information covered by
the Act. Therefore, I direct the NDC to continue to use
the Transparency Plans to conduct future reviews of any
information covered by the Act that has been postponed
from public disclosure. The Transparency Plans will
ensure that the public will have access to the maximum
amount of information while continuing to protect
against identifiable harms to the military defense,
intelligence operations, law enforcement, and the
conduct of foreign relations under the standards of the
Act.
[[Page 43249]]
Sec. 6. Publication. The Archivist of the United States
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, June 30, 2023
[FR Doc. 2023-14499
Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 7515-01-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 7, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.