30-06-2012, 02:53 AM
Thanks to Maggie for posting this, and to all who signed the petition, and Peter for his comments. It is now over 400 and we are shooting for 2,000, and seeking media coverage. Here's a Media Advisory we would like to get out to any news media person you may know who could be interested in doing a story on this issue. We are building up momentum that could, if enough people join the fray, end with the release of the records now instead of years from now, or maybe never. We also want to make this a campaign issue, and every time either party asks for public comment on issues, please bring this up. Thanks again to all who contribute to this campaign. Help us keep it going by sending the petition link to all your email and facebook friends who you think might support it. - All the best, Bill Kelly [URL="http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2012/06/nara-continues-withholding-of-jfk.html"]
JFKcountercoup: NARA Continues Withholding of JFK Assassination Records[/URL]
MEDIA ADVISORY Effort to release remaining sealed JFKassassination records
This is to advise you of the growing public response to the decision by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to remove the records on the assassination of President Kennedy from the 2013 National Declassification Center review process.
Because of the tremendous public outcry over the sealing ofthe assassination records following the release of Oliver Stone's movie "JFK," Congress passed the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 creating the JFKAssassination Records Collection at the NARA and ordered all of the agencies of government to turn over their relevant assassination records and open them to the public.
President Obama's first action as president on December 29, 2009 was to initiate a policy of transparency and open government with Executive Order 13526, that requires the accelerated declassification of the backlog of secret government records by 2013, the 50[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary of the assassination of the President.
The NARA originally said that because of the intense public interest in the issue, the JFK assassination records would be included in the process, but in a recent letter to James Lesar, the director of the Assassination Archives and Research Center in Washington D.C., the counsel to the NARA reversed their earlier decision and said, "Given this public interest, we have been consulting with the CIA to see if it would be possible to review and release any of these remaining documents in time for the 50[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary of President Kennedy's assassinationin 2013. Although the CIA shares the NARA's interest in wanting to be responsive to your request, they have concluded there are substantial logistical requirements that must take place prior to the release of these remaining records and there is simply not sufficient time or resources to complete these tasks prior to 2017. Accordingly, we will not beable to accommodate your request."
In response, hundreds of historians, researchers and ordinary citizens, both conspiracy theorists and Warren Commission supporters alike, have protested this decision signing an on-line petition, which reads: "We the undersigned call for the release of still secret JFK assassination records at the National Archives before the 50th Anniversary of that tragedy in November 2013. The National Archives has reneged on a 2010 promise to the public to release thousands of secret JFK assassination records by the end of 2013, contrary to President Obama's commitment to have the most open administration in history. Honor President Obama's commitment by releasing these historic records by November 2013."
In 2006, the CIA made a preemptory release of all documents that were postponed until 2010, which shows that they do have the logistical ability to release such records, and thus, the remaining 1171 CIA documents that are scheduled for release in 2017, can and should be reviewed and released as part of the 2013 National Declassification Center process.
Petiton: http://www.change.org/petitions/office-o...on-records
Jefferson Morley wrote an article about it in Salon: http://www.salon.com/2012/06/14/national...singleton/
Bill Kelly has posted Lesar's letter and the NARAreponse at his blog:
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2012/...f-jfk.html
Russ Baker Is The Government Holding Back CrucialDocuments?
http://whowhatwhy.com/2012/05/30/is-the-...documents/
For further information contact:
Jim Lesar, Esq. jhlesar@gmail.com
(202) 393-1921 (301)328-5920
John Judge (202) 583-5347 or (202) 277-1992
Bill Kelly (609) 425-6297
The Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC) pressrelease: http://aarclibrary.org/
National Archives Decides to Withhold Records Related to theAssassination of President John F. Kennedy - Declines Request for 50[SUP]th[/SUP]Anniversary Declassification Project
The National Archives today refused the request of a Washington non-profit public interest group to declassify secret records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in time for the 50[SUP]th[/SUP]anniversary of that tragic event in 2013 (see attached 6/12/12 letter of Gary Stern, General Counsel of the National Archives). The Archives reversed a commitment by Assistant Archivist Michael Kurtz made at an Archives public forum in 2010 at which time he stated the remaining secret Kennedy assassination records would be released by the end of 2013. The Archives today says that Kurtz "misspoke" when he made that commitment to the public.
Kurtz' promise to process the secret JFK related documents fulfilled President Obama's expressed desire that his administration be the most open in history. Today's reversal of release of these records defeats President Obama's pledge that his be the most open administration in history.
The National Archives states that it does not know the extent of secret files in its collection related to the Kennedy assassination, but that CIA is withholding 1, 171 classified documents related to the assassination. The Archive's acknowledges that in 2006 the CIA speeded up releases ofdocuments with releases dates through 2010, but that CIA declines to do so for the remaining documents due to "logistical requirements" even though, according to the National Archives, only 1, 171 CIA documents of undetermined volume remain to be declassified.
The request for release of the secret documents was made by the Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC), a Washington, D.C. non-profit public interest group in a letter signed by several of its board members and attorneys Mark Zaid, Charles Sanders and Prof. G. Robert Blakey, who served as the chief counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations. The letter made the point that the 50[SUP]th[/SUP]anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in 2013 will result in widespread discussion and news coverage, and that the government documents related to the assassination should be made public in order for a fully informed discussion.
DC FOIA Attorney Dan Alcorn says:
"Researchers have started an online petition to obtain release of secret files related to the assassination of President Kennedy in1963. In 2010 Asst. Archivist of the United States Michael Kurtz promised researchers that the secret records would be processed by the end of 2013 aspart of the government's effort to declassify hundreds of millionsof secret files. Recently the Archives reversed Kurtz' commitment,claiming that he had misspoken, and instead the Archives has informedresearchers that the secret JFK files will not be processed for release until2017 at the earliest. It is possible the files will remain secretlyindefinitely."
"Researchers are seeking release ofKennedy assassination files before the 50th anniversary of that tragic event inNovember 2013. The JFK assassination has been the subject ofrepeated government investigations and books and other literary treatments thathave come to conflicting conclusions about the assassination. TheAmerican public by large majority believes the JFK assassination was the resultof a conspiracy, while the official Warren Commission report in 1964 assertedthat the assassination was the act of a lone gunman. Researchers believethat 50 years of government secrecy surrounding the topic is enough, and thatall the records should be released before the 50th anniversary. Researchers assert that the interests of the United States would be best served by fulltransparency on the topci in 2013 rather than have the anniversary occur amidcharges of secrecy and cover up. The issue is whether the governmenttoday can be open and transparent on the violent removal of a President in1963."
JFKcountercoup: NARA Continues Withholding of JFK Assassination Records[/URL]
MEDIA ADVISORY Effort to release remaining sealed JFKassassination records
This is to advise you of the growing public response to the decision by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to remove the records on the assassination of President Kennedy from the 2013 National Declassification Center review process.
Because of the tremendous public outcry over the sealing ofthe assassination records following the release of Oliver Stone's movie "JFK," Congress passed the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 creating the JFKAssassination Records Collection at the NARA and ordered all of the agencies of government to turn over their relevant assassination records and open them to the public.
President Obama's first action as president on December 29, 2009 was to initiate a policy of transparency and open government with Executive Order 13526, that requires the accelerated declassification of the backlog of secret government records by 2013, the 50[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary of the assassination of the President.
The NARA originally said that because of the intense public interest in the issue, the JFK assassination records would be included in the process, but in a recent letter to James Lesar, the director of the Assassination Archives and Research Center in Washington D.C., the counsel to the NARA reversed their earlier decision and said, "Given this public interest, we have been consulting with the CIA to see if it would be possible to review and release any of these remaining documents in time for the 50[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary of President Kennedy's assassinationin 2013. Although the CIA shares the NARA's interest in wanting to be responsive to your request, they have concluded there are substantial logistical requirements that must take place prior to the release of these remaining records and there is simply not sufficient time or resources to complete these tasks prior to 2017. Accordingly, we will not beable to accommodate your request."
In response, hundreds of historians, researchers and ordinary citizens, both conspiracy theorists and Warren Commission supporters alike, have protested this decision signing an on-line petition, which reads: "We the undersigned call for the release of still secret JFK assassination records at the National Archives before the 50th Anniversary of that tragedy in November 2013. The National Archives has reneged on a 2010 promise to the public to release thousands of secret JFK assassination records by the end of 2013, contrary to President Obama's commitment to have the most open administration in history. Honor President Obama's commitment by releasing these historic records by November 2013."
In 2006, the CIA made a preemptory release of all documents that were postponed until 2010, which shows that they do have the logistical ability to release such records, and thus, the remaining 1171 CIA documents that are scheduled for release in 2017, can and should be reviewed and released as part of the 2013 National Declassification Center process.
Petiton: http://www.change.org/petitions/office-o...on-records
Jefferson Morley wrote an article about it in Salon: http://www.salon.com/2012/06/14/national...singleton/
Bill Kelly has posted Lesar's letter and the NARAreponse at his blog:
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2012/...f-jfk.html
Russ Baker Is The Government Holding Back CrucialDocuments?
http://whowhatwhy.com/2012/05/30/is-the-...documents/
For further information contact:
Jim Lesar, Esq. jhlesar@gmail.com
(202) 393-1921 (301)328-5920
John Judge (202) 583-5347 or (202) 277-1992
Bill Kelly (609) 425-6297
The Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC) pressrelease: http://aarclibrary.org/
National Archives Decides to Withhold Records Related to theAssassination of President John F. Kennedy - Declines Request for 50[SUP]th[/SUP]Anniversary Declassification Project
The National Archives today refused the request of a Washington non-profit public interest group to declassify secret records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in time for the 50[SUP]th[/SUP]anniversary of that tragic event in 2013 (see attached 6/12/12 letter of Gary Stern, General Counsel of the National Archives). The Archives reversed a commitment by Assistant Archivist Michael Kurtz made at an Archives public forum in 2010 at which time he stated the remaining secret Kennedy assassination records would be released by the end of 2013. The Archives today says that Kurtz "misspoke" when he made that commitment to the public.
Kurtz' promise to process the secret JFK related documents fulfilled President Obama's expressed desire that his administration be the most open in history. Today's reversal of release of these records defeats President Obama's pledge that his be the most open administration in history.
The National Archives states that it does not know the extent of secret files in its collection related to the Kennedy assassination, but that CIA is withholding 1, 171 classified documents related to the assassination. The Archive's acknowledges that in 2006 the CIA speeded up releases ofdocuments with releases dates through 2010, but that CIA declines to do so for the remaining documents due to "logistical requirements" even though, according to the National Archives, only 1, 171 CIA documents of undetermined volume remain to be declassified.
The request for release of the secret documents was made by the Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC), a Washington, D.C. non-profit public interest group in a letter signed by several of its board members and attorneys Mark Zaid, Charles Sanders and Prof. G. Robert Blakey, who served as the chief counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations. The letter made the point that the 50[SUP]th[/SUP]anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in 2013 will result in widespread discussion and news coverage, and that the government documents related to the assassination should be made public in order for a fully informed discussion.
DC FOIA Attorney Dan Alcorn says:
"Researchers have started an online petition to obtain release of secret files related to the assassination of President Kennedy in1963. In 2010 Asst. Archivist of the United States Michael Kurtz promised researchers that the secret records would be processed by the end of 2013 aspart of the government's effort to declassify hundreds of millionsof secret files. Recently the Archives reversed Kurtz' commitment,claiming that he had misspoken, and instead the Archives has informedresearchers that the secret JFK files will not be processed for release until2017 at the earliest. It is possible the files will remain secretlyindefinitely."
"Researchers are seeking release ofKennedy assassination files before the 50th anniversary of that tragic event inNovember 2013. The JFK assassination has been the subject ofrepeated government investigations and books and other literary treatments thathave come to conflicting conclusions about the assassination. TheAmerican public by large majority believes the JFK assassination was the resultof a conspiracy, while the official Warren Commission report in 1964 assertedthat the assassination was the act of a lone gunman. Researchers believethat 50 years of government secrecy surrounding the topic is enough, and thatall the records should be released before the 50th anniversary. Researchers assert that the interests of the United States would be best served by fulltransparency on the topci in 2013 rather than have the anniversary occur amidcharges of secrecy and cover up. The issue is whether the governmenttoday can be open and transparent on the violent removal of a President in1963."