Topline
Hundreds of Social Security numbers were made public in the Trump administration’s release of unredacted government records related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy—but so far, they include few new details about the investigation into his death.
Former President John F Kennedy and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 … More
Key Facts
The Social Security numbers and other personal information, such as addresses and names, of hundreds of congressional staffers, including members of the 1975 Senate Church Committee and House Select Committee on Assassinations that investigated Kennedy’s killing were revealed in the files, according to The Washington Post.
A former assistant secretary of state, former U.S. ambassador, former Army officer and former Trump campaign lawyer were among those whose personal information was revealed, according to The Post.
The Trump administration published on the National Archives’ website more than 60,000 pages of documents related to Kennedy’s assassination this week, far short of the 80,000 Trump promised Monday to make public.
Many of the records unveiled this week had been previously released with details—such as the Social Security numbers—redacted.
The Trump administration has not publicly commented on the release of the Social Security numbers.
Chief Critic
Former Trump campaign lawyer Joseph diGenova, whose personal information was included in the unredacted files made public, called the move “absolutely outrageous . . . sloppy” and “unprofessional” in a statement to The Post.
What To Watch For
The Justice Department requested on Monday the FBI also unseal its records related to surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. The agency is reportedly pushing for the accelerated release to comply with an executive order Trump signed calling for the declassification of records related to the government investigations into the assassinations of King, Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.
Key Background
The Justice Department’s National Security Division made a hasty final review of the Kennedy files released this week, assigning lawyers to work through the night to fulfill the promise Trump made publicly on Monday, ABC News reported, citing a DOJ email instructing an all-hands-on-deck approach to what it described as an “urgent NSD-wide project.” While most experts have said the newly released documents do not appear to contain any bombshells or information that would significantly change the outcome of the investigation—that 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy in Dallas in November 1963—the full picture of the unredacted materials will likely take researchers months to assess.
Further Reading
Trump Administration Releases JFK Files (Forbes)
DOJ Reportedly Pushes For Accelerated Release Of MLK Files—After JFK Files Widely Called A Bust (Forbes)
Trump Declassifying All JFK, RFK And MLK Jr. Assassination Records—Here’s What That Means (Forbes)
