Biden delayed the release of the secret file of Kennedy's assassination, causing some people to be angry

Biden used the delay caused by the covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to further delay the release of secret government files related to the assassination of President Kennedy. The documents were scheduled for release this week. Biden said in a White House memo on Friday that they would be released in two batches, one later this year and the other at the end of 2022.

The extension was made on the advice of the national archivist, who said the outbreak "has had a significant impact on the agency responsible for reviewing each revision of the document," according to the memo.

Biden wrote: "Archivists also point out that making these decisions requires a professional, academic, and orderly process; not a hasty decision or release." He added that he agreed that agencies need more time.

"In order to prevent significant damage to military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement or diplomatic relations, it is therefore necessary to postpone it for the time being because the severity of these damages outweighs the public interest of immediate disclosure," Biden said. ”

Biden said some documents would be released on December 15 this year, but out of respect for the anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963, they would not be released in advance. The remaining documents will undergo intensive review for a year and be published on December 15, 2022.

According to the 1992 book "John F. Kennedy", All assassination records should be publicly disclosed within 25 years or by October 2017, but may be deferred if national security issues outweigh the public interest of public disclosure. The National Archives noted that about 88 percent of the records had been published since the late 1990s.

In 2017, Trump announced that he planned to publicly disclose the remaining Kennedy files, but for national security reasons, he postponed the release of some of the files, and the new deadline was set for October 26, 2021. In 2018, Trump finally approved disclosures in 19,045 documents, about three-quarters of which still contain some amendments.

Jefferson Morley, the editor of the JFKFacts.org website, indicted the CIA in 2003 for records of kennedy's assassination. He said biden's decision to delay the announcement further was outraged by it, saying it was an excuse similar to "the coronavirus dog ate my homework."

Morley kept a countdown clock on his website, counting down to Oct. 26, and detailed how much time remained

Biden will decide to reveal the last secret dossier about Kennedy.

Morley said coldly in an interview: "Let's not rush to make a decision? After 29 years of procrastination, they didn't want to rush into a decision. They made it very clear that they did not intend to comply with the law ... It's a ruse. ”

Morley, who is also a former contributor to The Washington Post, said congress was needed to step in.

Earlier this month, some members of Congress wrote to Biden urging him to fully release all of Kennedy's files, including 520 documents that have not yet been made public, and 15,834 documents that have been previously published but partially or mostly edited. The letter was signed by Democratic lawmakers, including Anna M. Miller of California. G. Esso, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Jamie Ruskin of Maryland, Sarah Jacobs of California, Joe of Colorado and Raul Gerry of Arizona.

"Democracy requires that decisions made by the government must be made public and subject to public scrutiny, yet the excessive secrecy surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy continues to stir up suspicion in the American public and has a profound impact on the people's trust in the government," the lawmakers wrote. ”

Biden said Friday that the need to protect records has become weaker over time, and he agreed that it is critical for the U.S. government to maximize transparency.

"Nearly 30 years after the bill was implemented, the profound national tragedy of the assassination of President Kennedy continues to resonate in American history and in the memory of many Americans alive on that terrible day," Biden wrote. It is therefore essential to ensure that the U.S. government maximizes transparency, and that the government disclose all information in the assassination record unless there is the strongest reason to suggest that it should not. ”

#Biden, #肯尼迪 #

Author: Ding Li

Editor-in-Charge: Fei Qi