Once-classified files on JFK’s assassination released by Biden. What we know

President Joe Biden on Thursday released a cache of once-classified documents expected to shed light on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy nearly 60 years ago.

“This has been a commitment of the president,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “President Biden believes all information related to President Kennedy’s assassination should be released to the greatest extent possible, consistent with national security.”

Jean-Pierre said 97% of the Kennedy collection is available to the public following the release of 12,879 documents Thursday by the National Archives and 1,491 documents a year ago today.

An additional 515 documents have been withheld by the archives in full and 2,545 documents partially withheld.

Biden has ordered the acting archivist, Debra Steidel Wall, to conduct a six-month review “of a subset of the remaining redacted records” to ensure they are also disclosed “to the greatest extent possible,” Jean-Pierre said. 

For decades, conspiracy theories have swirled around Kennedy’s untimely death; the forthcoming files could provide some clarity. Here’s what we know. 

What will the new JFK files detail?

• The focus of Thursday’s document drop is the CIA’s 80-volume “personality file” for Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who assassinated Kennedy, Politico reported.
• The file includes information the CIA gathered on Oswald before and after the Kennedy attack.
• Information on Oswald’s trip to Mexico City and a CIA veteran’s apparent conflict of interest will also likely be released, according to POLITICO.

What won’t be revealed?

Some documents regarding Kennedy’s death will remain sealed, though efforts to increase transparency are ongoing, according to Politico.

At Biden’s request, “transparency plans” will also be released Thursday by agencies withholding related documents that explain generally the kinds of files that have not been released and why, Politico reported.

Among the files that are released, don’t expect any major bombshells. White House officials reportedly indicated that no conspiracy theories, like a different gunman or the reveal of a broader conspiracy to kill Kennedy, will be revealed Thursday.

What did the last files reveal?

Not much, researchers said at the time.

One file included information about a “crank call” made to Australia’s U.S. Navy attaché a year before Kennedy’s death about an alleged plot against the president by the Soviet Union, according to Politico. Another file was titled “Plots to Assassinate Castro,” referring to then-Cuban president Fidel Castro.

But experts weren’t impressed. Jefferson Morley, a veteran journalist and author of three books on the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1960s, called the release a “sham” at the time.

Why aren’t all the files released?

For some JFK historians, the 2021 drop was underwhelming, prompting criticism of the Biden administration. 

“According to the law, all JFK records were supposed to be made available within 25 years, no exception,” Morley told USA TODAY last year.

But this law — the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, or the “JFK Act” — also allows for postponement at the discretion of the president.

What’s the CIA’s response?

In response to questions from USA TODAY, a spokesperson for the CIA said the agency has been working with the National Archives on releasing the JFK files with a “goal of ensuring maximum transparency.” The spokesperson also said:

• What little information remains redacted in CIA records consists of intelligence sources and methods “which would currently do identifiable harm to intelligence operations” if released.
• “CIA believes all of its information known to be directly related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 has already been released. Likewise, we are not aware of any documents known to be directly related to Oswald that have not already been made part of the Collection.”
• “CIA never engaged Oswald. CIA information regarding Oswald, including Oswald’s visit to Mexico City from 27 September to 3 October 1963, was included in prior releases.  There is no new information on this topic in the 2022 release.”

Go deeper:

• 2021 JFK files:Biden administration orders release of nearly 1,500 classified files
• 2017 JFK files: Feds release 2,800 secret records; Trump withholds others due to national security concerns
• See it yourself: Search the 2017 secret files on John F. Kennedy assassination

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