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MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: AUGUST 21, 1996
CONTACTS: TOM SAMOLUK, EILEEN SULLIVAN
(202) 724-0088
The Assassination Records Review Board, an independent federal agency appointed by President Clinton to oversee the review and release of records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, will hold a public hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 17, 1996.
The hearing will be held in the Los Angeles Board of Education Hearing Room which is Room H-160, located on the first floor of 450 North Grand Avenue. The Board will hear a wide range of expert testimony on the identification and location of assassination records and receive an update from a National Archives representative on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. A witness list will be made available approximately one week in advance of the hearing.
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Event: Assassination Records Review Board Public Hearing
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 1996
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location: Los Angeles Board of Education Hearing Room
Room H-160 (1st Floor)
450 North Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, California
**********The Assassination Records Review Board was established by The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush. The five members of the Board were appointed by President Clinton, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and sworn in on April 11, 1994. The law gives the Review Board the mandate and the authority to identify, secure, and make available all records related to the assassination of President Kennedy. It is the responsibility of the Board to determine which records are to be made public immediately and which ones will have postponed release dates.
DOCUMENTS FROM MAY 13-14 MEETING SENT TO NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Introduction
The Assassination Records Review Board today made available an additional 296
FBI, CIA, and House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) documents related
to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Review Board voted to
release these documents on May 13 and 14, 1996.
CIA Records
The Review Board released 132 CIA records, one in full and 131 in part. These
documents are from Lee Harvey Oswalds 201" file. The Board determined that
some information relating to intelligence sources and methods should not be
publicly released at this time.
CIA Scelso Documents
As previously mentioned in the Review Boards June 13, 1996 advisory, the Board
has postponed the name of a former CIA employee who was involved in the
assassination investigation. This person used the pseudonym Scelso when
testifying before the HSCA. The Review Board voted to release the individuals
name in 188 Scelso documents on either May 1, 2001, or three months after the
death of the individual whose name is postponed, whichever occurs first.
FBI Records
The Board also released 153 additional FBI records, 29 in full and 124 in
part. These documents relate to the Bureaus post-assassination investigation
of Oswald. The FBI has appealed to the President the Boards decisions to
release information contained in 33 other documents from the May meeting. The
information contained in the redacted portions of these documents has to do
with intelligence sources and methods. Six documents from the May meeting were
reconsidered at subsequent meetings, four are still being processed by the FBI,
and one was released by the the FBI on its own, after the Board had voted to
release it.
HSCA Documents
The Board released 11 HSCA documents, one in full and 10 in part. These
documents relate to a variety of topics. The postponed information consists of
social security numbers.
The Board also sent to the National Archives 26 HSCA documents being made available by consent release.
The original documents being released today have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, which is housed at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.
Update on Other Assassination Records: FBI Appeals Documents From June Meeting The FBI has appealed the Boards decisions to release information contained in eight documents that the Review Board voted to open at its June 4, 1996 meeting. The information contained in the redacted portions of the documents has to do with intelligence sources and methods.
July 9-10, 1996 Board Meeting Totals
The Assassination Records Review Board voted on July 9 and 10, 1996 to release
416 CIA, FBI, and House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) documents
(including duplicates) related to the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy.
CIA Records
The Review Board voted to release 257 CIA records, 10 in full and 247 in part.
This is the first meeting in which the Board reviewed a significant number of
documents from the CIAs JFK Collection, the group of records containing
documents which the Agency considers part of the assassination investigation
itself. The issues in these documents cover a wide variety of topics including
the investigation of Jack Ruby, the Garrison investigation, and JMWAVE, the CIA
station in Miami that concentrated on anti-Castro issues. The Board determined
that some information relating to intelligence sources and methods should not
be publicly released at this time.
FBI Records
The Board also voted to release 150 FBI records, 64 in full and 86 in part.
These records include documents that relate to the investigations of Lee Harvey
Oswald and Jack Ruby. Other documents in this group relate to the
international reaction to the assassination of President Kennedy, including
that of the Communist Party. The Board determined that some information
relating to informant symbol names and numbers should not be publicly released
at this time.
HSCA/Warren Commission Documents
The Board voted to release 7 HSCA documents, 5 in full and 2 in part. Included
in this group of documents is Marina Oswalds Social Security Administration
file, which will be open for the first time, with the exception of social
security numbers. Two duplicates of previously opened Warren Commission
documents that are in the HSCA files were also cleared for release by the
Board.
Notification to the President and the Agencies
Notification of the Review Boards action on the above documents was sent to the
President of the United States and the agencies on July 24, 1996. The
President has 30 days to agree or disagree with the Review Boards decisions.
Other Board-Related Activities
After consultation with the appropriate agencies and in compliance with the JFK
Act, 402 FBI, CIA, and HSCA documents will be available in full by consent
release. The FBI will release 153 documents, and the CIA will release 131
documents. In addition, 118 HSCA documents will be available by consent
release.
The Review Board has tentatively decided to conduct a public hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 17, 1996. We do not have a site yet. The hearing will be modeled after the Boston and New Orleans hearings. No other details are available now, but we are working on them. Will keep you advised. [Note: If we run into problems with September 17th as far as getting a site for the hearing, Monday, September 16th is our back-up date.]
Re: Assassination Records Review Board Public Meeting on August 6, 1996, 1:00 pm Room 206, 600 E Street, Washington, DC
Dear Interested Parties:
The Assassination Records Review Board is pleased to announce that it has nearly completed its review of the CIA's Oswald 201 File. There are fewer than ten documents that have yet to be reviewed, and we expect that this review will be completed within the next 60 days. These records constitute the core collection of CIA records that previously have been identified as assassination records. The volume of these records, now available to the public at the National Archives, is more than 17 boxes. The Review Board has conducted a word-by-word review of each of the postponements in these records and has, in the vast majority of cases, opened up the records to the public.
In addition to reviewing the Oswald 201 file, the Review Board has been (and is) continuing its word-by-word review of FBI postponements. While conducting this work, the Review Board has also been releasing some miscellaneous records from the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), as well as records from several other federal agencies.
During the next phase of its work, the Review Board will be redirecting its attention to two new categories of records: the HSCA archives and the CIA records that were segregated at the time of the HSCA and which are now known by the name of the "Sequestered Collection."
The HSCA archives records are now physically in the possession of the Review Board at our offices in Washington, D.C. During the upcoming months we will be conducting a word-by-word review of each proposed redaction in the HSCA records and we expect to be releasing in the near future many interesting records from the HSCA collection. As an example, we expect that the sworn testimony of John Scelso (pseudonym) to the HSCA will be available within the next month.
While the Review Board is turning to its detailed review of the HSCA records, it will also be reviewing the CIA's Sequestered Collection. The Sequestered Collection, which was created at the time of the HSCA's work, ranges from records of direct relevance to assassination to others for which the ARRB is unable to identify any relevance. We are now attempting to establish an approach to the handling of these records that is fully consistent with our mandate and responsibilities, and, at the same time, reflects a reasonable and appropriate investment of (Board, staff, and agency) resources. Separating the "wheat from the chaff," and devoting our time to a detailed review of postponements in the "wheat," is essential to completing the most important parts of our mission on time. To help us determine the best approach to handling the large volume of records in the Sequestered Collection, we have scheduled a public meeting of the Board for August 6, 1996 at 1:00 pm in Room 206, 600 E Street NW, Washington, DC (adjacent to the Review Board offices). There will be an opportunity for the public to offer comment on this issue at that time.
Should you wish to make a comment at the meeting, please keep in mind that the period for public comment be will be limited to a total of approximately one hour and that individual speakers will be limited to 5-10 minutes. We will hold the record of this meeting open for two weeks to allow members of the public to submit written comments. We will be scheduling speakers on a "first come, first served basis." Please let Tom Samoluk (202-724-0457) know promptly if you would like to address the Board on this matter.
We do not now anticipate that the Board will be reaching a final decision on this issue at the August 6 meeting.
Sincerely,
John R. Tunheim
Chairman
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: TOM SAMOLUK
JULY 2, 1996
(202) 724-0088, EXT. 227
"These records provide more historical insight into the actions of the FBI and CIA following the assassination," said the Honorable John R. Tunheim, Chair of the Review Board. "The American public deserves to have as complete a picture as possible of this tragic event. The release of previously classified information adds clarity to the picture."
The Board is releasing 141 FBI documents and 33 CIA documents, in full or in part, that cover a range of topics relating to the agencies' responses to the assassination. Included in this release of records are FBI documents from 1964 regarding the public appearances of a well-known Warren Commission critic. The CIA documents are from Oswald's "201" file that became a catchall for everything the agency collected or created that related to Oswald and the assassination. The documents were voted on by the Board at its April 16-17, 1996 meeting and have been previously available with redactions.
The FBI appealed to the President the decisions of the Board to release information contained in eight other documents (including duplicates) from the April meeting. That appeal is currently pending before the President, along with another FBI appeal involving records the Board voted to release at its March meeting.
The original documents being released today have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, which is housed at the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland.
Copies of selected documents are available from the Assassination Records Review Board, 600 E Street, NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC.
The Assassination Records Review Board was established by The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush. The five members of the Board were appointed by President Clinton, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and sworn in on April 11, 1994. The law gives the Review Board the mandate and the authority to identify, secure, and make available all records related to the assassination of President Kennedy. It is the responsibility of the Board to determine which records are to be made public immediately and which ones will have postponed release dates.
The Review Board consists of the following members:
Honorable John R. Tunheim, Chair; U.S. District Court Judge, District of Minnesota.
Dr. Henry F. Graff; Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University.
Dr. Kermit L. Hall; Dean, College of Humanities, and Professor of History at The Ohio State University.
Dr. William L. Joyce; Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections at Princeton University.
Dr. Anna K. Nelson; Adjunct Professor of History at American University.
The Review Board has until October 1, 1997 to fulfill its mandate.
ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD VOTES TO RELEASE CIA, FBI, AND HSCA RECORDS
June 4, 1996 Board Meeting Totals
The Assassination Records Review Board voted on June 4, 1996 to release 439
CIA, FBI, and House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) documents,
including duplicates, related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
CIA Records
The Review Board voted to release 228 CIA records, 4 in full and 224 in part.
Included in these documents is the "Mexico City Chronology", a 133-paged
summary of CIA communications related to Lee Harvey Oswald's trip to Mexico
City in the fall of 1963. Other documents relate to Oswald's stay in the
Soviet Union, and former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison's
investigation into the assassination. The redacted information includes, for
the most part, names of CIA employees and sensitive operational details.
FBI Records
The Board also voted to release 205 FBI records, 37 in full and 168 in part.
These documents consist in large part of post-assassination FBI headquarters
and field office files on Oswald. The redacted information contains informant
symbol names and numbers.
HSCA Documents
The Board voted to release 6 HSCA documents, 3 in full and 3 in part. Included
in this group of documents are: a United States Customs Service document from
the Metro-Dade Police files, which was acquired by the HSCA, concerning an
organized crime meeting in Miami; multiple-year tax returns for Eileen Kaminsky
(Jack Ruby's sister); a Department of Defense document that includes a fact
sheet on the 112th Intelligence Corps and a fact sheet on the destruction of
Oswald's IRR dossier.
Notification to the President and the Agencies
Notification of the Review Board's action on the above documents was sent to
the President of the United States and the agencies on June 18, 1996. The
President has 30 days to agree or disagree with the Review Board's decisions.
Secret Service Records
As part of the mandate of the Review Board to identify assassination records,
the Board designated additional Secret Service records as "assassination
records." These records include Secret Service correspondence with members of
the Warren Commission in 1964, and the document "Briefing Book: Director's
Appearance Before the House Select Committee on Assassinations, December
1978." The Board will now review these documents for inclusion in the JFK
Assassination Records Collection.
Other Board-Related Activities
After consultation with the FBI and in compliance with the JFK Act, 82 FBI
documents will be available by consent release.
COPIES OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE CAN BE OBTAINED THROUGH REGULAR MAIL BY REQUEST.
Dateline: Federal Register Vol 61. No. 108 / Tuesday, June 4, 1996 / Notices p. 28158-28163
A large release of documents that I will not list here.
The true identity of "John Scelso" will be revealed, "May 1, 2001, or three months after the decease of the individual whose name is postponed, whichever occurs first."
The following have been designated as assassiantion records, "protective survey reports for planned Presidential trips to Houston, Ft. Worth, and Austin, Texas on November 21-22, 1963; shift reports of unusual incidents (March 1963-January, 1964); post assassination Secret Service memoranda describing legislation to define penalties for assassination of federal officers and responsibility for investigating such incidents; letters from the public and memoranda on presidential protection (1962-1963); newsclippings on the Warren Commission; reports and directories describing internal organization at the Secret Service (1961-1962) [Why not 1963?] ; correspondence between the Secret Service and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (1977-1978); and the Richard Case Nagell file.
Offered as some kind of explanation, the ARRB states, "In not designating some USSS shift reprots and some post assassination Kennedy detail assignments as assassination records, the Review Board relied upon the advice of its staff, which conducted a thorough review of materials in the above listed categories." Well, I would like to know exactly what was excluded and why.
Dateline: Federal Register vol. 61. No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Notices p. 31917
First off, a large ammount of material was released, again I will not list here.
Designation of assassination records, "USSS correspondence with members of the Warren Commission (1964); selected documents from the "protective research" file (1962-1964); and the document "Briefing Book: Director's Appearance Before The House Select Committee On Assassinations, December, 1978.
Again, the same excuse is offered as to why some documents were selected and some were not from the "protective research file", "The Review Board relied upon the advice of its staff...".
Well, some good news some bad. I wish they would let the American people decide the value of a record after its release rather than decide its value and therefore keep it hidden.
If you are unhappy with the Board's decison with regard to "John Scelso"'s true identity being protected for 5 more years or until the person dies, please write to them and say so.
(Wouldn't it be nice to get this from the ARRB direct, like a fax or email? or from COPA?)
Note: You can email ARRB Chairman John Tunheim at John_Tunheim@jfk-arrb.gov (John_Tunheim@jfk-arrb.gov). If your Web browser supports forms, click on the highlighted words for a pre-addressed email form.
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