Note from The Black Vault: This page is a work in progress. The Black Vault has sent a request to the National Archives to receive a BULK download for proper processing and archival purposes. Once received (*IF received), this page will be updated.
UPDATE 12/15/2021 @ 1:00PM – NARA came through and orchestrated getting me a BULK download. I am currently converting all files to be searchable, and I will offer a .zip download. This page will be updated when that is available.
The following was released by the National Archives and Records Administration. It is archived here for research purposes, and this archive will be updated to offer its own archived downloads. For now, the new release will need to be downloaded FROM NARA DIRECTLY, one document at a time. The Black Vault aims to change the accessibility of the 1,491 documents just released to have a better, easier, format for downloading and searching.
WASHINGTON, December 15, 2021 – In accordance with President Biden’s directive of October 22, 2021, the National Archives today posted 1,491 documents subject to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (JFK Act). Released documents are available for download.
The John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, established by the National Archives in November 1992, consists of approximately five million pages. The vast majority of the collection has been publicly available without restrictions on access since the late 1990s. As permitted by the JFK Act, agencies appealed to the President to continue postponement of certain information beyond October 22, 2021. The President provided agencies with a temporary certification until December 15, 2022, to allow for a review of all documents withheld in full or in part under section 5 of the JFK Act and directed agencies to “to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency, disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise.”
As of December 15, 2021, all documents subject to section 5 of the JFK Act have been released in full or in part. No documents subject to section 5 of the JFK Act remain withheld in full. Over the next year, the National Archives and the agencies proposing continued postponement of more than 14,000 previously withheld documents will be conducting an intensive review of each remaining section 5 redaction to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency. Any information currently withheld from public disclosure that agencies do not propose for continued postponement beyond December 15, 2022, will be released to the public on that date.
