A bipartisan group lawmakers are requesting President Trump not block the release of never-before-seen documents related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination, which are scheduled to be released this month.
The group is led by Sen. Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who introduced companion resolutions Wednesday pressing Trump to allow full public disclosure of the documents currently held by the National Archives and Records Administration by the deadline set by a 25-year-old law.
“To me, the tragedy that took place in Dallas continues to raise many questions that go unanswered,” Jones said in a statement. “After 54 years, there is no reason, for the sake of honesty and integrity in America, that the facts of the JFK assassination should not be made public. Virgil once said, ‘Evil is nourished and grows by concealment.’ It’s time to reveal what happened that awful afternoon in 1963.”
“Transparency in government is critical not only to ensuring accountability; it’s also essential to understanding our nation’s history,” Grassley added. “The assassination of President Kennedy occurred at a pivotal time for our nation, and nearly 54 years later, we are still learning the details of how our government responded and what it may have known beforehand. Americans deserve a full picture of what happened that fateful day in November 1963. Shining a light on never-before-seen government records is essential to filling in these blank spaces in our history.”
Among the other lawmakers supporting the resolutions are Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. The statement from Grassley and Jones also stated that some academics are calling for the release of the documents.
Unless Trump intervenes, the National Archives has until Oct. 26 to release the documents pertaining to Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. The date was established by the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.
The documents primarily consist of CIA and FBI documents. The agencies have not said if they’ve requested Trump prevent them from being released, but congressional and government sources told Politico for a piece published in August that at least two federal agencies, most likely the CIA and FBI, are expected to press Trump not to release the documents.
