Leahy
Joins In Pressing For Full Public Disclosure Of JFK Assassination Documents
October
4, 2017
Congressman
Walter B. Jones and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley are
calling for full public disclosure of documents pertaining to the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy.
Today,
Jones and Grassley introduced companion resolutions to accomplish just that.
The first, H. Res. 556 in the House and S. Res. 281 in the Senate, calls on the
President of the United States to allow the release of all remaining documents
currently held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and
reject any efforts to postpone their release.
The second,
H. Res. 557 and S. Res. 282, commends NARA and its employees for working to
release those records by October 26, 2017, the date established by the President
John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.
“To me,
the tragedy that took place in Dallas continues to raise many questions that go
unanswered,” said Jones. “After 54 years, there is no reason, for the sake
of honesty and integrity in America, that the facts of the JFK assassination
should not be made public. Virgil once said, ‘Evil is nourished and grows by
concealment.’ It’s time to reveal what happened that awful afternoon in 1963.”
“Transparency
in government is critical not only to ensuring accountability; it’s also
essential to understanding our nation’s history. The assassination of
President Kennedy occurred at a pivotal time for our nation, and nearly 54
years later, we are still learning the details of how our government responded
and what it may have known beforehand. Americans deserve a full picture
of what happened that fateful day in November 1963. Shining a light on
never-before-seen government records is essential to filling in these blank
spaces in our history,” Grassley said.
“I am
proud to cosponsor Chairman Grassley’s resolutions calling on the Trump
Administration to publicly disclose all government records related to the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy – as required by a 1992 law authored
by my good friend, the late Senator John Glenn,” responded
Senator Patrick
Leahy, Senate cosponsor. “The assassination of President Kennedy was one
of the most shocking and tragic events in our nation’s history. Americans
have the right to know what our government knows. Transparency is crucial
for our country to fully reckon with this national tragedy, and that is the
purpose of these resolutions. Chairman Grassley and I both believe that a
government of, by, and for the people simply cannot be one that needlessly
hides information from them, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to
make our democracy ever more transparent to the American people.”
"Twenty-five
years ago, both Houses of Congress unanimously passed a bill mandating that
these records would be released this month. It is time for the National
Archives to do what it was directed to do and release these documents,"
said Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, an original cosponsor.
Several
academics with research interests in the life of President Kennedy are also
calling on the release of all classified documents.
"Historians
and political scientists have been patiently waiting for this information for
many years. If the full true story is to be told, then the full release
of these files is essential," said UVA Professor Larry J. Sabato,
Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "Surely, 54
years of hidden secrets is more than enough. It's time to bring all the
facts into the bright sunshine of public disclosure."
Additional
House cosponsors include Representatives Dana Rohrbacher, John Conyers, Matt
Gaetz, Gerald Connolly and Marcy Kaptur.
Press
Contact
David
Carle: 202-224-3693
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