JFK Files Unveil CIA Secrets, Include Personal Info

History enthusiasts eagerly dove into the recently unveiled cache of government records, hoping to uncover fresh insights into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, the documents unexpectedly shed light on U.S. espionage activities, revealing previously concealed personal information.

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration made over 63,000 pages of records publicly accessible online, as directed by an executive order from President Donald Trump. Many documents had been made available before, albeit with redactions obscuring the identities of CIA sources or details regarding its secretive operations of the 1960s.
President Kennedy lost his life on November 22, 1963, during a visit to Dallas. As his motorcade concluded its downtown parade route, shots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald, who had strategically placed himself on the sixth floor, was apprehended by the police. Two days later, Oswald was fatally shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby during a televised jail transfer.

This latest trove of documents reignited conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. However, Kennedy experts noted that nothing contradicted the prevailing notion that Oswald, a 24-year-old former Marine, acted as the lone shooter.

“The pursuit of truth seems endless,” remarked Philip Shenon, author of a 2013 publication on JFK’s assassination.
While this release was substantial, it was far from exhaustive. The majority of the National Archives’ over 6 million pages of related records had already been disclosed, with about 2,200 files recently uploaded online. Writers, historians, and conspiracy theorists have long advocated for the complete unsealing of all documents tied to the event. In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be consolidated into a single collection at the National Archives, scheduled to be opened by 2017, subject to presidential exemptions.

As per researchers and the FBI, around 3,700 files remain withheld by federal entities. Trump’s order additionally called for the declassification of remaining federal records concerning the 1968 assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The scholars criticized the release for its hasty approach, finding the process of examining each file individually frustratingly random. “We’ve all heard about the overnight diligence from lawyers, which I believe, given the noticeable inconsistencies,” stated Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of “The Kennedy Half-Century.”
Unlike previous releases, the National Archives did not provide an index or a functional search tool, causing annoyance among scholars and history aficionados. Additionally, the cache contained materials from post-1960s periods, with personal data like Social Security numbers left unredacted. Among those affected was Joseph diGenova, a former Trump campaign attorney, who discovered sensitive information about him. His documents pertained to his work for a U.S. Senate select committee investigating government power abuses in the 1970s, including citizen surveillance. He plans to take legal action against the National Archives, citing privacy law violations.

White House officials have outlined plans to assist those whose personal information was compromised, offering credit monitoring and issuing new Social Security numbers. Officials are actively examining the records to identify all disclosed numbers.

For mainstream historians, the document release was particularly rewarding, offering new insights into international relations, the Cold War, and CIA activities. One significant disclosure involved a warning to President Kennedy post-Bay of Pigs invasion, cautioning about the CIA’s growing power. An aide suggested that the State Department assume control of “all clandestine activities” to dismantle the CIA.
The complete text of Special Assistant Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s memo, proposing these changes, was released for the first time, revealing that 47% of political officers in U.S. embassies were CIA-controlled, a detail previously redacted.
Timothy Naftali, a Columbia University adjunct professor and author working on a JFK presidency book, emphasized the newfound depth of understanding scholars could achieve regarding U.S. intelligence operations during Kennedy’s tenure.
“It truly is a remarkable journey through the veiled sphere of secrecy,” he observed.