[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 50307-50308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23795]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 209 / Tuesday, October 31, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 50307]]


                Memorandum of October 26, 2017

                
Temporary Certification for Certain Records 
                Related to the Assassination of President John F. 
                Kennedy

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                The American public expects--and deserves--its 
                Government to provide as much access as possible to the 
                President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records 
                (records) so that the people may finally be fully 
                informed about all aspects of this pivotal event. 
                Therefore, I am ordering today that the veil finally be 
                lifted. At the same time, executive departments and 
                agencies (agencies) have proposed to me that certain 
                information should continue to be redacted because of 
                national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs 
                concerns. I have no choice--today--but to accept those 
                redactions rather than allow potentially irreversible 
                harm to our Nation's security. To further address these 
                concerns, I am also ordering agencies to re-review each 
                and every one of those redactions over the next 180 
                days. At the end of that period, I will order the 
                public disclosure of any information that the agencies 
                cannot demonstrate meets the statutory standard for 
                continued postponement of disclosure under section 
                5(g)(2)(D) of the President John F. Kennedy 
                Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 U.S.C. 
                2107 note) (the ``Act'').

                Accordingly, by the authority vested in me as President 
                and Commander in Chief by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States of America, I hereby certify that 
                all information within records that agencies have 
                proposed for continued postponement under section 
                5(g)(2)(D) of the Act must be temporarily withheld from 
                full public disclosure until no later than April 26, 
                2018, to allow sufficient time to determine whether 
                such information warrants continued postponement under 
                the Act. This temporary withholding from full public 
                disclosure is necessary to protect against harm to the 
                military defense, intelligence operations, law 
                enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that 
                is of such gravity that it outweighs the public 
                interest in immediate disclosure.

                I hereby direct all agencies that have proposed 
                postponement of full disclosure to review the 
                information subject to this certification and identify 
                as much as possible that may be publicly disclosed 
                without harm to the military defense, intelligence 
                operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign 
                relations.

                Any agency that seeks to request further postponement 
                beyond this temporary certification shall adhere to the 
                findings of the Act, which state, among other things, 
                that ``only in the rarest cases is there any legitimate 
                need for continued protection of such records.'' The 
                need for continued protection can only have grown 
                weaker with the passage of time since the Congress made 
                this finding. Accordingly, each agency head should be 
                extremely circumspect in recommending any further 
                postponement of full disclosure of records. Any agency 
                that seeks further postponement shall, no later than 
                March 12, 2018, report to the Archivist of the United 
                States (Archivist) on the specific information within 
                particular records that meets the standard for 
                continued postponement under section 5(g)(2)(D) of the 
                Act. Thereafter, the Archivist shall recommend to me, 
                no later than March 26, 2018, whether the specific 
                information within particular records identified by 
                agencies warrants continued withholding from public 
                disclosure after April 26, 2018.

[[Page 50308]]

                The Archivist is hereby authorized and directed to 
                publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, October 26, 2017

[FR Doc. 2017-23795
Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
Billing code 7515-01-P