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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 19, 1997
CONTACT: EILEEN SULLIVAN
202-724-0088, ext. 253
The Assassination Records Review Board, an independent federal agency overseeing the identification, review, and release of records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, announced today that it is releasing documents from the National Security Agency (NSA).
The Board reviewed 84 NSA documents and is releasing 75 that are postponed in part, 6 that are opened in full, and is postponing 3 documents in full.
The original records have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in the JFK Collection, which is housed at the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 12, 1997
CONTACT: EILEEN SULLIVAN
(202) 724-0088, EXT. 253
The Assassination Records Review Board announced today that it is releasing the minute-by-minute account contained in the Associated Press (A.P.) wire copy of the events of November 22 through November 26, 1963, chronicling the first news reports of the shooting of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby shooting Oswald, and the funeral of President Kennedy.
The wire copy was donated by Richard Barnes, a former A.P. reporter. Barnes was assigned to A.P.'s San Francisco Bureau at the time of the assassination of President Kennedy. A few weeks after the assassination, he asked the news editor if he could have the A.P. wire copy from November 22 through November 26, when it was time to be thrown out. The news editor agreed. Barnes took possession of the wire copy approximately one month after the assassination and has had the materials ever since.
Barnes has donated a complete copy of the wire reports to the Review Board for inclusion in The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection (JFK Collection) at the National Archives and Records Administration. Barnes still has the original wire copy that was received by teletypewriter in the A.P. San Francisco Bureau newsroom.
"The Associated Press wire copy is a very valuable addition to the JFK Collection at the National Archives," said Dr. Anna K. Nelson, a member of the Review Board. "This material, which recounts all of the events of those tragic days in November 1963 as they became known and were reported to the world, will allow future generations to share in the unfolding drama of those terrible few days."
The A.P. wire copy begins on the morning of Friday, November 22nd with a series of stories unrelated to President Kennedy's trip to Dallas. A story on Vietnam states that "Administration officials who met in Honolulu two days ago with American diplomatic and military leaders from South Vietnam agreed cautiously that things are going reasonably well so far." Another item discusses popular entertainer Vaughn Meader's desire to "get away from Kennedy impersonations." A report out of Washington announces that Congress had granted President Kennedy "the record-breaking $315 billion national debt ceiling he asked for the next seven months."
Then a bulletin flashes at 12:39 p.m.:
BULLETIN DALLAS, NOV. 22 (AP)-PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS SHOT TODAY JUST AS HIS MOTORCADE LEFT DOWNTOWN DALLAS. MRS. KENNEDY JUMPED UP AND GRABBED MR. KENNEDY. SHE CRIED, OH, NO! THE MOTORCADE SPED ON.
Reports continue to come out of Dallas regarding the shooting. Later, there is the first report that the President is dead:
FLASH DALLAS-- PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED AT 1:00 P.M. (CST)
Soon there is a report with the first description of a suspect and then follows the first report that Lee Harvey Oswald has been taken into custody:
BULLETIN DALLAS, TEX., NOV.22 (AP)- THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT TODAY ARRESTED A 24-YEAR-OLD MAN, LEE H. OSWALD, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SLAYING OF A DALLAS POLICE OFFICER SHORTLY AFTER PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS ASSASSINATED. HE WAS ALSO BEING INTERROGATED TO SEE IF HE HAD ANY CONNECTION WITH THE SLAYING OF THE PRESIDENT.OSWALD WAS PULLED SCREAMING AND YELLING FROM THE TEXAS THEATER IN THE OAK CLIFF SECTION OF DALLAS.
Gradually more information becomes known about Oswald and is contained in subsequent wire reports. Later in the night, a bulletin reports that Oswald has been charged with murdering President Kennedy.
On Sunday morning, November 24, comes the report on the wire that Oswald has been shot during his transfer from the custody of the Dallas Police Department to the Dallas Sheriff's Department:
FLASH!! -- OSWALD SHOT
Quickly followed by:
BULLETIN DALLAS, NOV. 24 (AP) LEE HARVEY OSWALD, ACCUSED SLAYER OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY, WAS SHOT TODAY APPARENTLY IN THE STOMACH AS HE LEFT CITY HALL UNDER HEAVY GUARD EN ROUTE TO AN ARMORED CAR FOR TRANSFER TO THE COUNTY JAIL.
The focus of the A.P. reports shifts to the funeral of President Kennedy on Monday, November 25th in Washington, D.C. The collection of wire copy concludes on the evening of Tuesday, November 26th, the day following the funeral. The story on the funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery ends with a description of Mrs. Kennedy:
MRS. KENNEDY RECEIVED THE FLAG, AND WITH FLAG UNDER HER ARM, SHE APPROACHED THE GRAVE AND LIT THE ETERNAL FLAME. IT WAS 3:12 P.M. MRS. KENNEDY THEN STEPPED AWAY.
The copy of the A.P. wire reports being released today has been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in The JFK Collection, which is housed at the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland.
Copies of selected parts from the A.P. wire copy are available from the Assassination Records Review Board, 600 E Street, NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC 20530; telephone number: (202) 724-0088.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 9, 1997
CONTACT: EILEEN SULLIVAN
(202) 724-0088, ext. 253
President Clinton has signed a bill extending the Assassination Records Review Board for one additional year. The Review Board is the independent federal agency overseeing the identification, review, and release of records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The bill, H.R. 1553, was signed into law by the President on July 3, 1997. It amends the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 to extend the authorization of the Assassination Records Review Board until September 30, 1998, and authorizes $1.6 million for the Board to complete its work. The bill was introduced by House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-IN) and cosponsored by Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Louis Stokes (D-OH). Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) had introduced a companion bill, S. 844, in the Senate.
"The members of the Review Board are pleased to have this additional time to complete our work. We will be able to complete the review and release of thousands of critical FBI and CIA records, submit a comprehensive final report to the Congress and the President, and make available to the American public as much information as possible on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy," said Judge John R. Tunheim, chair of the Review Board. "We appreciate that the Congress and the President moved quickly and decisively on our extension."
The Assassination Records Review Board was established by the JFK 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 Dallas Morning News, in its July 3 issue, quoted Ford as saying, "My changes were only an attempt to be more precise," and that they had nothing to do with a conspiracy.
The reports of Ford's changes were brought to the public's attention in documents released by the Assassination Records Review Board, according to the News.
A draft sentence of the Warren Report read: "A bullet had entered his back at a point slightly above the shoulder and to the right of the spine."
Ford suggested it be changed to read, "A bullet had entered the back of his neck at a point slightly to the right of the spine."
The final version read, "A bullet had entered the base of the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine."
"Without that alteration, they could never have hoodwinked the public as to the true number of assassins," the News quoted critic Robert Morningstar as saying. He said the effect of the change was to raise Kennedy's back wound two or three inches.
Ford, who later served two years as President, is the last surviving member of the Warren Commission. He stood by the Commission's lone-assassin theory, telling the News, "I think our judgments have stood the test of time."
Also according to ARRB-released docuemnts, the News reported, Ford criticized the Dallas Police Department for allowing Jack Ruby to murder accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. "I believe we let the Dallas Police Department off too easily," he wrote in the margins of the draft concerning Oswald's slaying.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 2, 1997
CONTACT: EILEEN SULLIVAN
(202) 724-0088, EXT. 253
The Assassination Records Review Board, an independent federal agency overseeing the identification, review, and release of records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, announced today that the personal files of the late J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel of the Warren Commission, are available to the public at the National Archives.
"I am particularly gratified that the Board has acquired these files. They provide unique insight into the behind-the-scenes operations of the Warren Commission,"
said Dr. William Joyce, a member of the Review Board. "The materials offer a better understanding of the role that the Commission members played in the drafting of the final report on the assassination of President Kennedy. This is a most significant collection."
Rankin's personal papers were donated to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection (JFK Collection) by his son, attorney James Rankin. They include memos and handwritten changes to the draft chapters of the final report that were recommended by Commission members, including Representative Gerald Ford (R-MI), John McCloy, and Allen Dulles. The documents also include the daily scheduling diary prepared by Mr. Rankin's secretary. There are approximately 40,000 pages in the Rankin collection.
The Rankin papers have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration for inclusion in the JFK Collection, which is housed at the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland.
Copies of selected documents from the Rankin papers are available from the Assassination Records Review Board, 600 E Street, NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC 20530; telephone number: (202) 724-0088.
The Assassination Records Review Board was established by the JFK 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; Distinguished Adjunct Historian in Residence at The American University.
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