The Kennedy family is lashing out after the administration of President Joe Biden revealed its plans to further delay the release of FBI files surrounding the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
This isn't the first time the documents have been delayed. Former President Donald Trump released a few of the documents in 2018 but pushed back the rest to October 25, 2021. The Biden administration has further pushed that date back.
A White House memo states that some of the remaining documents will be released on December 15, 2021, with the rest being released in December 2022. It's unclear what prompted the additional delay.
David Ferriero, archivist of the United States, has claimed the delay is in place simply to allow government agencies to "maximize the amount of information released." In the memo, he blames the pandemic for the additional delay.
Ferriero writes, "Unfortunately, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the agencies, making these decisions is a matter that requires a professional, scholarly, and orderly process; not decisions or releases made in haste."
The Kennedy family is understandably frustrated by the new delays. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Politico, "We're not supposed to have secret governments within the government. How the hell is it 58 years later, and what in the world could justify not releasing these documents?"
Patrick Kennedy echoed this sentiment, telling the publication that transparency should be the focus. He added, "I think for the good of the country, everything has to be put out there so there's greater understanding of our history."
The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act was put into law in the early 1990s. The purpose of the act is to ensure that the records surrounding JFK's death "should be eventually disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history surrounding the assassination."
However, the act itself is what makes these delays possible. Biden himself seemed to call for the full release of the records in the White House memo, stating, "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."
