According to an Oct. 26 New York Times article, President Donald Trump ordered the release of over 2,800 documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. After the release of these documents, Trump stated that agencies should be extremely circumspect when requesting redactions because "the need for continued protection can only have grown weaker with the passage of time." CIA officials claim that releasing the records may be a threat to national security and intelligence gathering methods, contrary to the belief that more secrets are being protected. How do you feel about this and do you think that all of the documents should have been released?

Brandon Stanaway ’19

The recent unveiling of a majority of the final batch of documents pertaining to the Kennedy assassination is merely a distraction to the public. Robert Mueller’s investigation reportedly requested Paul Manafort and Rick Gates’ surrender to federal authorities, Congressional Republicans planned to reveal their tax reform bill on Wednesday, and the President named the Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell to the Chairperson position. These are all more pertinent to the health of the nation than a dozen boxes of archival records. The president is aiming to draw media attention away from more pertinent matters and undermine the legitimacy of the intelligence community and investigative institutions ahead of his showdown with Mueller. The Central Intelligence Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation are just in their concern for the protection of their investigative methods. While outdated, exposing the ways and means of collecting investigative information can lead to inferences into modern methods. As apolitical actors, the CIA and FBI want to avoid becoming the Executive’s next scapegoat.
Brandon Stanaway ’19 is a double major in History and Economics with a minor in Political Science. He is also a member of the Student Union. 

Kent Dinlenc ’19

I feel the declassification of the JFK files is not going to be as revealing as the public believes it will be. All of the information that would pose a threat to national security is still not being released, so what’s left doesn’t seem substantial. I’m not a fan of declassifying files all together unless the modes in which the CIA gathers its information are obsolete or are no longer relevant to living agents. It’s just a tease for conspiracy theorists. Trump said he may make everything public next week, excluding the names of living agents and informants. Maybe he’ll use the gathered information about Oswald’s visit to Mexico as a means to strengthen his opposition towards our southern neighbor. I would not put that past this Administration. 

Kent Dinlenc ’19 is the president of Brandeis Quiz Bowl and a Justice staff member. 

Taminder Singh ’20

I believe these documents are essential for the American people to know what happened. Reality is, we have been told that our President was assassinated by a lone gunman and that was all. So, why are there more documents that cannot be told? I understand that the government may feel as if its process can be compromised, but intelligence agencies are made to adapt. As a true democracy, we deserve to know the truth, regardless of the consequences. Yes, our enemies will know the truth as well, but we are not a monarchy or oligarchy, where our citizens are not told the truth with fear of what it will do to the Republic. We are the Republic, we get to choose what we want, and we want these documents exposed. 

Taminder Singh ’20 is majoring in Economics and Computer Science with a minor in Politics. 

Avraham Penso ’20

Given that Mr. Trump was required by the 1992 President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act to release all the documents by Oct. 26, his decision to comply with this law can hardly be in and of itself a reason for criticism. As noted by the New York Times article, Trump released only some of the files, while bowing to pressure from intelligence agencies and providing them an extra six months to review thousands of remaining documents. Upon release of the records, the CIA mentioned that its requested redactions (which Trump promised to accept) would help protect the names of certain officials and intelligence-gathering methods. The concern of some current officials notwithstanding, I can’t help but think that if anything truly damaging to national security were contained within these records the CIA, which has been aware of the mandated release date for a full 25 years, would have long since redacted the necessary information. While it therefore seems unlikely that the unreleased documents contain anything of great secrecy, I appreciate that Trump showed a (frankly surprising) degree of caution in granting intelligence agencies an additional six months to review the remaining documents. 

Avraham Penso ’20 is an editor for the Justice.