President Joe Biden has made a final decision to certify the release of files concerning John F. Kennedy’s assassination. However, an intriguing mystery looms, as 4,684 documents remain confidential in whole or part.
The National Archives has already disclosed thousands of previously secret documents related to Kennedy’s tragic assassination in November 1963. These documents, revealing inputs from the CIA, FBI, State Department, and other agencies, cover a vast array of topics. From Lee Harvey Oswald’s interaction with Soviet and Cuban officials to anonymous tips, threats, and the detailed investigations into the shooting, these records offer an insight into one of the darkest chapters in American history.
Interestingly, one of the recently declassified documents mentions Reuben Efron, a CIA official responsible for intercepting Oswald’s mail prior to JFK’s assassination. The same Efron reported a UFO encounter in 1955 while traveling through the Soviet Union with Senator Richard Russell and an Army colonel. This encounter, documented in a CIA report, describes two “flying saucers,” although skeptics suggest they were likely Soviet aircraft. It’s noteworthy that Senator Russell later sat on the Warren Commission and interviewed Marina Oswald, Oswald’s wife.
Conspiracy theorists now point to this intriguing link between Efron and the Kennedy assassination, speculating that Efron may have withheld critical information. They also pin hopes on a bipartisan bill aimed at declassifying UFO records, which could potentially shed more light on the government’s understanding and engagement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs).
“People say there’s nothing significant in these files?” comments Jefferson Morley, editor of JFK Facts blog. “Bingo! Here’s the guy who was reading Oswald’s mail, a detail they failed to share until now. You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to think it’s suspicious.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is endorsing a bipartisan bill aimed at revealing government records on UFOs and UAPs. This bill seeks to amend the National Defense Authorization Act, mandating the federal government to collate and disclose all records on UAPs to the public unless a review board justifies their confidentiality.
This process echoes the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which dictated the release of all Kennedy-related files by the National Archives by 2017. However, with some files still unrevealed, public curiosity continues to grow, with JFK scholars filing a lawsuit.
Schumer joins forces with Sen. Mike Rounds, the lead Republican on the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity for the Armed Services Committee, to support this amendment. Other notable supporters include Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Todd Young, and Sen. Martin Heinrich.
“Our goal is to ensure credibility with regard to any investigation or record keeping of materials related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs),” Sen. Rounds stated in a news release. “Relevant documents related to this issue should be preserved. Having a central collection location and a reputable review board to maintain the records boosts the credibility of any future investigations.”
