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Rep Anna Eshoo

Eshoo, Cohen, and Colleagues Call on President Biden to Declassify Documents Related to President Kennedy Assassination

October 7, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18) and Steve Cohen (TN-09),in a letter to President Biden, urged him to declassify and make public all remaining classified documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, pursuant to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, also known as the "JFK Act."

"Democracy requires that decisions made by the government be open to public scrutiny. Yet excessive secrecy surrounding President Kennedy's assassination continues to inspire doubt in the minds of the American public and has a profound impact on the people's trust in their government," wrote the members. "Only by unsealing these records can our country live up to its ideals as an open society and resolve this painful moment in American history."

The letter is co-signed by U.S. Reps. James P. McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Joe Neguse, Sara Jacobs and Raúl Grijalva.

A PDF of the letter can be found HERE.

Background

In response to public demand, Congress unanimously passed the JFK Act which requires all records relating to President Kennedy's assassination to be transmitted to the National Archives and released to the public within 25 years after the enactment of the law. After President Trump extended the deadline twice, President Biden must now decide whether to finally release all withheld records from the investigation surrounding the assassination.

Almost 60 years after the assassination, more than 15,000 documents continue to be fully or partially withheld from the public.


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