Temporary Certification Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Published date27 October 2021
Citation86 FR 59599
Record Number2021-23563
SectionPresidential Documents
CourtExecutive Office Of The President
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 205 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
                [Presidential Documents]
                [Pages 59599-59602]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-23563] Presidential Documents
                Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 205 / Wednesday, October 27, 2021 /
                Presidential Documents
                [[Page 59599]]
                 Memorandum of October 22, 2021
                
                Temporary 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 President John F. Kennedy
                 Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 U.S.C.
                 2107 note) (the ``Act''), the Congress declared that
                 ``all Government records concerning the assassination
                 of President John F. Kennedy . . . should be eventually
                 disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed
                 about the history surrounding the assassination.'' The
                 Congress also found that ``most of the records related
                 to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are
                 almost 30 years old, and only in the rarest cases is
                 there any legitimate need for continued protection of
                 such records.'' Almost 30 years since the Act, the
                 profound national tragedy of President Kennedy's
                 assassination continues to resonate in American history
                 and in the memories of so many Americans who were alive
                 on that terrible day; meanwhile, the need to protect
                 records concerning the assassination has only grown
                 weaker with the passage of time. It is therefore
                 critical to ensure that the United States Government
                 maximizes transparency, disclosing all information in
                 records concerning the assassination, except when the
                 strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise.
                 Sec. 2. Background. The Act permits the continued
                 postponement of 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. Since 2018, executive
                 departments and agencies (agencies) have been reviewing
                 under this statutory standard each redaction they have
                 proposed that would result in the continued
                 postponement of full public disclosure. This year, the
                 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has
                 been reviewing whether it agrees that each redaction
                 continues to meet the statutory standard. The Archivist
                 of the United States (Archivist), however, has reported
                 that ``unfortunately, the pandemic has had a
                 significant impact on the agencies'' and NARA and that
                 NARA ``require[s] additional time to engage with the
                 agencies and to conduct research within the larger
                 collection to maximize the amount of information
                 released.'' The Archivist has also noted that ``making
                 these decisions is a matter that requires a
                 professional, scholarly, and orderly process; not
                 decisions or releases made in haste.'' The Archivist
                 therefore recommends that the President ``temporarily
                 certify the continued withholding of all of the
                 information certified in 2018'' and ``direct two public
                 releases of the information that has'' ultimately
                 ``been determined to be appropriate for release to the
                 public,'' with one interim release later this year and
                 one more comprehensive release in late 2022.
                 Sec. 3. Temporary Certification. In light of the
                 agencies' proposals for continued postponement under
                 the statutory standard, the Archivist's request for an
                 extension of time to engage with the agencies, and the
                 need for an appropriate review and disclosure process,
                 I agree with the Archivist's recommendation. Temporary
                 continued postponement is necessary to protect against
                 identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence
                 operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign
                 relations that is of such gravity
                [[Page 59600]]
                 that it outweighs the public interest in immediate
                 disclosure. Accordingly, 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, I hereby certify that all information
                 within records that agencies have proposed for
                 continued postponement under section 5(g)(2)(D) shall
                 be withheld from full public disclosure until December
                 15, 2022.
                 Sec. 4. Interim Release. Any information currently
                 withheld from public disclosure that agencies have not
                 proposed for continued postponement shall be reviewed
                 by NARA before December 15, 2021, and shall be publicly
                 released on that date. Out of respect for the
                 anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination, such
                 release shall not occur before December 15, 2021.
                 Sec. 5. Intensive 1-Year Review. (a) Over the next
                 year, agencies proposing continued postponement and
                 NARA shall conduct an intensive review of each
                 remaining redaction to ensure that the United States
                 Government maximizes transparency, disclosing all
                 information in records concerning the assassination,
                 except when the strongest possible reasons counsel
                 otherwise. This review shall include documents within
                 the assassination records collection designated as
                 ``not believed relevant'' by the Assassination Records
                 Review Board established under the Act, but nonetheless
                 placed within the collection by the Assassination
                 Records Review Board.
                 (b) Any information that an agency proposes for
                 continued postponement beyond December 15, 2022, shall
                 be limited to the absolute minimum under the statutory
                 standard. An agency shall not propose to continue
                 redacting information unless the redaction is 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. In applying this statutory standard, an
                 agency shall:
                (i) Accord substantial weight to the public interest in transparency and
                full disclosure of any record that falls within the scope of the Act; and
                (ii) Give due consideration that some degree of harm is not grounds for
                continued postponement unless the degree of harm is of such gravity that it
                outweighs the public interest.
                 (c) For any record containing information that an
                 agency proposes for continued postponement beyond
                 December 15, 2022, the agency shall provide, no later
                 than December 15, 2021:
                (i) an unclassified letter, to be signed by the head of the agency,
                providing a written description of the types of information for which the
                agency is proposing continued postponement and reasons for which the agency
                is proposing continued postponement of such information;
                (ii) an unclassified index identifying for each such record the reasons for
                which the agency is proposing continued postponement of information in such
                record; and
                (iii) a specific proposed date identifying for each such record when the
                agency reasonably anticipates that continued postponement of information in
                such record no longer would be necessary or, if that is not possible, a
                specific proposed date for each such record identifying when the agency
                would propose to next review again after December 15, 2022, whether the
                information proposed for continued postponement in such record still
                satisfies the statutory standard for postponement.
                 (d) NARA shall review each proposed redaction, no
                 later than September 1, 2022, in consultation with:
                (i) The Department of Defense if the agency proposing the redaction asserts
                an anticipated harm to the military defense;
                (ii) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence if the agency
                proposing the redaction asserts an anticipated harm to intelligence
                operations;
                (iii) The Department of Justice if the agency proposing the redaction
                asserts an anticipated harm to law enforcement; and
                [[Page 59601]]
                (iv) The Department of State if the agency proposing the redaction asserts
                an anticipated harm to the conduct of foreign relations.
                 (e) The relevant consulting agency, as designated
                 pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, shall
                 provide its assessment to NARA as to whether the
                 information proposed for continued postponement
                 satisfies the statutory standard for such postponement.
                 In reviewing a proposed redaction, NARA or the relevant
                 consulting agency, as designated pursuant to subsection
                 (d) of this section, should consult with the agency
                 that proposed the redaction.
                 (f) If NARA does not agree that a proposed
                 redaction meets the statutory standard for continued
                 postponement, it shall inform the agency that proposed
                 the redaction. After consultation with NARA, the agency
                 that proposed the redaction may, no later than October
                 1, 2022:
                (i) withdraw the proposed redaction; or
                (ii) refer the decision on continued postponement to the President through
                the Counsel to the President, accompanied by an explanation of why
                continued 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.
                 (g) If NARA agrees that a proposed redaction meets
                 the asserted statutory standard for continued
                 postponement, the Archivist shall recommend to the
                 President, no later than October 1, 2022, that
                 continued postponement from public disclosure of the
                 information is warranted after December 15, 2022.
                 (h) At the conclusion of the 1-year review, any
                 information still withheld from public disclosure that
                 agencies do not propose for continued postponement
                 beyond December 15, 2022, shall be released to the
                 public on that date.
                 (i) At the conclusion of the 1-year review, each
                 unclassified letter described in subsection (c)(i) of
                 this section and each unclassified index described in
                 subsection (c)(ii) of this section shall be disclosed
                 to the public on December 15, 2022, with any updates
                 made to account for any information initially proposed
                 for continued postponement that is not postponed from
                 public disclosure beyond December 15, 2022.
                 Sec. 6. Digitization and Democratization of Records.
                 (a) Since the 1990s, more than 250,000 records
                 concerning President Kennedy's assassination--more than
                 90 percent of NARA's collection--have been released in
                 full to the public. Only a small fraction of the
                 records contains any remaining redactions. But many
                 records that have been fully disclosed are inaccessible
                 to most members of the public unless they travel to
                 NARA's location in College Park, Maryland.
                 (b) The Archivist shall issue a plan, no later than
                 December 15, 2021, to digitize and make available
                 online NARA's entire collection of records concerning
                 President Kennedy's assassination.
                 (c) The Archivist shall provide additional context
                 online about the records that have been withheld in
                 full under sections 10 and 11 of the Act--primarily
                 documents containing tax-related information of the
                 Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security
                 Administration--that are not subject to the
                 Presidential certification requirement under section 5
                 of the Act.
                [[Page 59602]]
                 Sec. 7. Publication. The Archivist is hereby authorized
                 and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
                 Register.
                
                
                 (Presidential Sig.)
                 THE WHITE HOUSE,
                 Washington, October 22, 2021
                [FR Doc. 2021-23563
                Filed 10-26-21; 11:15 am]
                Billing code 7515-01-P
                

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT