The National Archives released more than 2,000 documents Thursday night related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
At about 7:30 p.m., the National Archives posted 2,891 JFK documents.
The release comes after President Trump
, bending to CIA and FBI appeals. Despite a deadline set decades ago, the National Archives only turned over some 2,800 other records Thursday night.
“I have no choice,” Trump said in a memo, citing “potentially irreversible harm” to national security if he were to allow all records out now. He was placing those files under a six-month review while letting the others come out Thursday to meet a deadline to honor a law mandating their release.
Officials say Trump will impress upon federal agencies that “only in the rarest cases” should JFK files stay secret after the six-month review.
Despite having months to prepare for disclosures that have been set on the calendar for 25 years, Trump’s decision came down to a last-minute debate with intelligence agencies — a tussle the president then prolonged by calling for still more review.
