JFK files out Thursday: What to expect from secret records on Kennedy assassination

October 26, 2017
Washington

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Prof. Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia said it was “ridiculous” that so much time has passed since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy without the public release of documents. (Oct. 24)
AP

WASHINGTON â€”Â The National Archives on Thursday is expected to releaseÂ a final batch of records related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, completing a longÂ process that has enthralled researchers and conspiracy theorists for a quarter-century.

The once-classified records will be released pursuantÂ to the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.

That law, passed in the wake of Oliver Stone’s conspiracy-minded film JFK, required the release of all records of the assassination investigation by the 25th anniversary of the bill’s signing â€”Â Oct. 26, 2017.

“According to the act, all records previously withheld either in part or in full should be released on October 26, 2017, unless authorized for further withholding by the president of the United States.”

President Trump himself appeared excited about allowing the release of the secret records, tweeting on Saturday that he would be allowing “the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened.” On Wednesday, he said theÂ “long anticipated” release the following day would be “so interesting.”Â

Previous releases have not altered the government’s initial conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when he shot Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Historians anticipateÂ that many of the records will deal with Oswald’s activities in Mexico City, where he traveled two months before the assassination.

According to the 1992 law, all documents released this week will be completely uncensored.Â

Gerald Posner, author of the 1993 book Case Closed, which supported the conclusion that Oswald was the sole killer, said the Mexico City documents could be embarrassing for people who will be identified as informants for the U.S. government during the 1960s and later.

The archives have already released a large batch of documents in July, which included various reports by the FBI and CIA that identified some of their informants. A Jan. 30, 1964, FBI memo by longtime bureau intelligence chief William Sullivan explored allegations that Oswald was an FBI informant.Â

“Contrary to testimony, Oswald was never FBI informant (sic), was never paid money for information and was assigned to any symbol number,” Sullivan wrote. His memo later identified two bureau informants with the alleged symbol number assigned to OswaldÂ â€” “a Negro madam who runs a house of prostitution” in Dallas and a Mexican “who furnishes information on the Mexican-Russian Institute of Cultural Exchange in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.”

Another document released in July was an affidavit by then-CIA Director John McCone that “Lee Harvey Oswald was not an agent, employee, or informant of the Central Intelligence Agency.”

Any documents that challenge those denials by the CIA and FBI will attract much attention.

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President Trump has tweeted he will allow the release of thousands of previously classified files related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The files are scheduled to be released on October 26, 2017.
USA TODAY

Some hopeÂ the new records would shed light on various conspiracy theories, including the alleged culpability of organized crime, the Soviet Union, or Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Some of the records released in July included FBI reports on Cuban exiles involved in the attempts to kill Castro or overthrow his government. Several involved Frank Fiorini, also known as Frank Sturgis, a Cuban “soldier of fortune” who was later arrested on June 17, 1972, trying to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington’s Watergate office complex.

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People tour an exhibit dedicated to President John F. Kennedy at the Newseum on Nov. 22, 2013 in Washington. People visit the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza in Dallas. Women pause for the final prayer during a ceremony to marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings speaks to the crowd. People gather in Dealey Plaza. A woman leaves flowers on a plaque outside the childhood home of former president John F. Kennedy in Brookline, Mass. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick calls for a moment of silence at 1:58 p.m., marking the time of death of President Kennedy, during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the president's assassination at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. The United States Naval Academy Glee Club sings during the ceremony in Dallas. People pray during the Dealey Plaza ceremony. People watch a historical broadcast about the life of President Kennedy near Dealey Plaza. A crowd gathers near Dealey Plaza. Crews raise a large banner on Main Street before the start of the Dealey Plaza ceremony. Barbara Clark wipes away a tear as she listens to Andrew Fallaci read a story at the Kennedy Memorial in Hyannis, Mass. Media prepare for a ceremony in Dealey Plaza. The crowd moves into position before the start of the ceremony. Bundled for the cold weather, a visitor watches the crowd in Dealy Plaza. A police officer monitors the street as a crowd streams past the Texas School Book Depository building before the 50th anniversary ceremony begins. Floral tributes are laid on the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Dealey Plaza. A woman visiting the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston looks at a display of the flag that draped Kennedy's casket and a photo of Jacqueline Kennedy during her husband's funeral. A wreath honoring Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit is placed at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Tippit was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald when he stopped to question Oswald after the assassination of Kennedy. Attorney General Eric Holder pays his respects at the grave of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery Nov. 22, on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death. Holder has been visiting the grave since his youth and used to come with his mother before she died. Tatiana Schlossberg, President Kennedy'sgranddaughter, right; Matthew Barzun, U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, left; and Tony Badger of the Kennedy Memorial Trust prepare to lay wreaths at the JFK memorial at Runnymede, England on Nov. 22, 2013. A flag flies at half-staff above the White House in Washington on Nov. 22 to mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. The eternal flame flickers in the early-morning light at the grave of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 22, 2013, the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death. An unidentified girl pays respects during a wreath-laying ceremony with former ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith and Patrick Hallinan, executive director of Army National Military Cemeteries, at the grave of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 22. A view of the JFK Tribute on Nov. 22 in Fort Worth. People visited the tribute on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, when he was shot as he rode in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. A woman visits the JFK Tribute on Nov. 22, 2013, in Fort Worth. People there marked the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination, which took place in another Texan city, Dallas.