JFK Files Delayed & Conspiracy Theories Grow

JFK Files

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As people everywhere waited for the JFK files to be released, news emerged on Thursday afternoon that some of  files have actually were delayed. At first, it wasn’t clear what would happen. The deadline to release the files was today, but a required memo specifying what the CIA and other agencies would like to continue to keep secret had not yet been sent to President Donald Trump, NBC News reported. Before the files could be released by the National Archives, Trump had to give his official approval. By the evening of October 26, he had… But he allowed an extra delay on some documents that had previously been redacted. It turns out that only some of the documents are being released, not everything, despite the Congressional act requiring their release.

The National Archives announced that President Donald Trump ordered the release of all the remaining Section 5 records and a “more precise review for remaining redactions within six months.” So, although the Section 5 records will be “released,” they won’t all be released in full, it appears.

Of course, this will only grow the conspiracy theories even more. Many are starting to wonder if all of this was just blown out of proportion and we won’t see much of anything today. Why did agencies delay getting the required documents to the President? They certainly had enough notice that this deadline was coming up — 25 years to be exact. Americans are already reacting to the news online with little enthusiasm and a lot of eye rolling.

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The delay will definitely be feeding conspiracy theories, that’s for sure.

The National Archives stated:

The President has also ordered that all remaining records governed by section 5 of the JFK Act be released, and thus additional records will be released subject to redactions recommended by the executive offices and agencies.  NARA will process these records for release as soon as possible on a rolling basis.

Based on requests from executive offices and agencies the President has allowed the temporary withholding of certain information that would harm national security, law enforcement, or foreign affairs.  The President also ordered agencies to re-review their proposed redactions and  only redact information in the rarest of circumstances where its withholding “is made necessary by an identifiable harm to military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and the identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”  These instructions will allow the National Archives to release as much information as possible by the end of the temporary certification period on April 26, 2018.

The best way to grow conspiracy theories is by delaying documents that could help end those theories. According to NBC News, the CIA was only asking for some redactions, but “other agencies involved in the process” hadn’t even finished their redaction request submissions yet. It’s not known if there’s any kind of fine or penalty for the delay.

Some have given up all hope of seeing anything useful:

As everyone refreshes the webpage where the JFK files will be posted, they’re growing increasingly annoyed at seeing nothing.

Officials said that it now looks like we might not get all of those remaining documents today after all. We may get some, but not all of them.

Read more about the JFK files below: