[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 77967-77970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27812]



[[Page 77965]]

Vol. 87

Tuesday,

No. 243

December 20, 2022

Part II





The President





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Memorandum of December 15, 2022--Certifications Regarding Disclosure of 
Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of 
President John F. Kennedy
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 243 / Tuesday, December 20, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Memorandum of December 15, 2022

                
Certifications Regarding Disclosure of 
                Information in Certain Records Related to the 
                Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                Section 1. Policy. As set forth in the Presidential 
                Memorandum of October 22, 2021 (Temporary Certification 
                Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records 
                Related to the Assassination of President John F. 
                Kennedy) (2021 Memorandum), in the President John F. 
                Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 
                (44 U.S.C. 2107 note) (the ``Act''), the Congress 
                declared that ``all Government records concerning the 
                assassination of President John F. Kennedy . . . should 
                be eventually disclosed to enable the public to become 
                fully informed about the history surrounding the 
                assassination.'' The Congress also found that ``most of 
                the records related to the assassination of President 
                John F. Kennedy are almost 30 years old, and only in 
                the rarest cases is there any legitimate need for 
                continued protection of such records.'' In the 30 years 
                since the Act became law, the profound national tragedy 
                of President Kennedy's assassination continues to 
                resonate in American history and in the memories of so 
                many Americans who were alive on that terrible day; 
                meanwhile, the need to protect records concerning the 
                assassination has weakened with the passage of time. It 
                is therefore critical to ensure that the United States 
                Government maximizes transparency by disclosing all 
                information in records concerning the assassination, 
                except when the strongest possible reasons counsel 
                otherwise.

                Sec. 2. Background. (a) The Act permits the continued 
                postponement of disclosure of information in records 
                concerning President Kennedy's assassination only when 
                postponement remains necessary to protect against an 
                identifiable 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 disclosure. Since 2018, executive 
                departments and agencies (agencies) have been reviewing 
                under this statutory standard each redaction they have 
                proposed that would result in the continued 
                postponement of full public disclosure, with the 
                National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 
                reviewing whether it agrees that each redaction 
                continues to meet the statutory standard. In my 2021 
                Memorandum, the Archivist of the United States 
                (Archivist) explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had a 
                significant impact on the ability of agencies, 
                including NARA, to conduct this review and 
                comprehensive engagement, and the Archivist recommended 
                that I temporarily certify the records for continued 
                postponement for a limited period. In the 2021 
                Memorandum, I directed the completion of an intensive 
                1-year review of each remaining proposed redaction to 
                ensure that the United States Government maximizes 
                transparency by disclosing all information in records 
                related to the assassination, except in cases when the 
                strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise.

                    (b) Pursuant to my direction, agencies have 
                undertaken a comprehensive effort to review the full 
                set of almost 16,000 records that had previously been 
                released in redacted form and determined that more than 
                70 percent of those records may now be released in 
                full. This significant disclosure reflects my 
                Administration's commitment to transparency and will 
                provide the American public with greater insight and 
                understanding of the Government's investigation into 
                this tragic event in American history.

[[Page 77968]]

                    (c) In the course of their review, agencies have 
                identified a limited number of records containing 
                information for continued postponement of public 
                disclosure. NARA has reviewed these proposed redactions 
                and has coordinated with relevant consulting agencies, 
                where appropriate, to ensure that the proposed 
                redactions meet the statutory standard for continued 
                postponement. The Acting Archivist has recommended 
                certifying a small subset of the reviewed records for 
                continued postponement of public disclosure.
                    (d) The Acting Archivist has further indicated that 
                additional work remains to be done with respect to a 
                limited number of other reviewed records that were the 
                subject of agency proposals for continued postponement 
                of public disclosure. The Acting Archivist believes 
                such additional work could further reduce the amount of 
                redacted information. The Acting Archivist therefore 
                recommends that I temporarily certify the continued 
                postponement of public disclosure of the redacted 
                information in these records to provide additional time 
                for review and to ensure that information from these 
                records is disclosed to the maximum extent possible, 
                consistent with the standards of the Act.

                Sec. 3. Certification. In light of the proposals from 
                agencies for continued postponement of public 
                disclosure of information in the records identified in 
                section 2(c) of this memorandum under the statutory 
                standard, and the Acting Archivist's recommendation, I 
                agree that continued postponement of public disclosure 
                of such information is warranted to protect against an 
                identifiable 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 disclosure. Accordingly, by the 
                authority vested in me as President by the Constitution 
                and the laws of the United States of America, including 
                section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that 
                continued postponement of public disclosure of these 
                records is necessary to protect against an identifiable 
                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 disclosure. All information within these 
                records that agencies have proposed for continued 
                postponement under section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall 
                accordingly be withheld from public disclosure. Further 
                release of the information in these records shall occur 
                in a manner consistent with the Transparency Plans 
                described in section 7 of this memorandum.

                Sec. 4. Temporary Certification. In light of the 
                proposals from agencies for continued postponement of 
                public disclosure of information in the records 
                identified in section 2(d) of this memorandum under the 
                statutory standard, the Acting Archivist's request for 
                an extension of time to continue review of those 
                records, and the need for an appropriately thorough 
                review process, I agree with the Acting Archivist's 
                recommendation regarding temporary postponement. 
                Temporary continued postponement of public disclosure 
                of such information is necessary to protect against an 
                identifiable 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 disclosure. Accordingly, by the 
                authority vested in me as President by the Constitution 
                and the laws of the United States of America, including 
                section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, I hereby certify that 
                all information within these records that agencies have 
                proposed for continued postponement under section 
                5(g)(2)(D) of the Act shall be withheld from public 
                disclosure until June 30, 2023.

                Sec. 5. Release. Any information currently withheld 
                from public disclosure that agencies have not proposed 
                for continued postponement shall be released to the 
                public by December 15, 2022.

                Sec. 6. Review. (a) From the date of this memorandum 
                until May 1, 2023, relevant agencies and NARA shall 
                jointly review the remaining redactions in the records 
                addressed in sections 2(d) and 4 of this memorandum 
                with a view to maximizing transparency and disclosing 
                all information in records concerning the 
                assassination, except when the strongest possible 
                reasons

[[Page 77969]]

                counsel otherwise. Any information that agencies 
                propose for continued postponement of public release 
                beyond June 30, 2023, shall be limited to the absolute 
                minimum under the statutory standard. Agencies shall 
                not propose to continue redacting information unless 
                the redaction is necessary to protect against an 
                identifiable 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 disclosure. In applying the 
                statutory standard, agencies shall:

(i) accord substantial weight to the public interest in transparency and 
full disclosure of any record that falls within the scope of the Act; and

(ii) give due consideration that some degree of harm is not grounds for 
continued postponement unless the degree of harm is of such gravity that it 
outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

                    (b) If, by no later than May 1, 2023, NARA agrees 
                that a proposed redaction meets the statutory standard 
                for continued postponement, the Archivist shall 
                recommend to the President, no later than May 1, 2023, 
                that continued postponement of public disclosure of the 
                information is warranted after June 30, 2023.
                    (c) If, by no later than May 1, 2023, NARA does not 
                recommend that a proposed redaction meets the statutory 
                standard for continued postponement, agencies shall, no 
                later than May 15, 2023:

(i) withdraw the proposed redaction; or

(ii) recommend to the President, through the Counsel to the President, on a 
document-by-document basis, that release of the information continue to be 
postponed, providing an explanation for each proposed redaction of why 
continued postponement remains necessary to protect against an identifiable 
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 disclosure.

                    (d) In the development of the recommendations 
                described in this section, as questions arise about 
                particular proposed redactions, NARA shall consult, as 
                appropriate, with relevant agencies as described in 
                section 5(d) of my 2021 Memorandum.
                    (e) At the conclusion of the review described in 
                this section, any information withheld from public 
                disclosure that agencies do not propose for continued 
                postponement beyond June 30, 2023, shall be released to 
                the public by that date.

                Sec. 7. Transparency Plans. As part of their review, 
                each agency prepared a plan for the eventual release of 
                information (Transparency Plan) to ensure that 
                information would continue to be disclosed over time as 
                the identified harm associated with release of the 
                information dissipates. Each Transparency Plan details 
                the event-based or circumstance-based conditions that 
                will trigger the public disclosure of currently 
                postponed information by the National Declassification 
                Center (NDC) at NARA. These Transparency Plans have 
                been reviewed by NARA, and the Acting Archivist has 
                advised that use of the Transparency Plans by the NDC 
                will ensure appropriate continued release of 
                information covered by the Act. Accordingly, I direct 
                that the Transparency Plans submitted by agencies be 
                used by the NDC to conduct future reviews of any 
                information that has been postponed from public 
                disclosure, including information in the records 
                described in sections 2(c) and 3 of this memorandum.

[[Page 77970]]

                Sec. 8. Publication. The Acting Archivist is hereby 
                authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in 
                the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, December 15, 2022

[FR Doc. 2022-27812
Filed 12-19-22; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P