When Obama and McConnell Appointed a CIA'er and Bushie to Oversee Declassification

[Benjamin Cole]

It was 2010, and President Obama in the White House.

The JFK Records, then as now, were waiting to be declassified. Of course, the JFKA research community was deeply interested in CIA records.

So, who did President Obama appoint as the first Director of National Declassification Center of the National Archives? 

You can't make this stuff up. 

From the Federation Of American Scientists, May 2010: 

"New Appointments to Declassification Center, Board

By Steven Aftergood • May 24, 2010

Last week, Sheryl Jasielum Shenberger was named by the Archivist of the United States as the first director of the National Declassification Center.

As director, Ms. Shenberger will be responsible for ensuring that the new Center achieves its initial operating capability when it starts operations in earnest next month.  The Center has been tasked by President Obama with eliminating the backlog of over 400 million pages of classified historical records, which must be declassified and made available to the public not later than the end of December 2013.  To meet this ambitious goal, the Center will have to process an average of 100 million pages each year, a tenfold increase over recent practice.

Ms. Shenberger has been a Central Intelligence Agency analyst and desk officer, and currently serves as a Branch Chief at the CIA Declassification Center."  

---30---

Yes, in 2010 President Obama appointed a former CIA analyst and desk officer as first Director of National Declassification Center.

More from the Federation of American Scientists: 

"Also last week, attorney William A. Burck was appointed to the Public Interest Declassification Board, which advises the White House on declassification policy.  Its membership is appointed by the White House, and by Congressional majority and minority leaders.

Mr. Burck was named to the Board by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).  According to his bio, he previously served as a Special Counsel to President George W. Bush, in which capacity he advised the President and other officials 'on major legal issues confronting the Administration.'"

---30---

So you get a CIA'er in a critical role regarding declassification, and a Bushie advising Obama on what to do, back in 2010.

So it goes, down through the administrations. Always more review, and review and some more review. 

Until the Biden Administration, which has declared Presidents can unilaterally and permanently withhold JFK Records. 

https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2010/05/declass_appts/

 

 

[Michael Griffith]

It is a sad truth that weakness and cowardice about releasing JFK assassination records has been a bipartisan problem and black mark. 

Only a relatively small number of liberal activists and libertarian Republicans have been willing to speak out on TV and radio about the cover-up and the evidence of conspiracy.

[W. Niederhut]

7 hours ago, Benjamin Cole said:

It was 2010, and President Obama in the White House.

The JFK Records, then as now, were waiting to be declassified. Of course, the JFKA research community was deeply interested in CIA records.

So, who did President Obama appoint as the first Director of National Declassification Center of the National Archives? 

You can't make this stuff up. 

From the Federation Of American Scientists, May 2010: 

"New Appointments to Declassification Center, Board

By Steven Aftergood • May 24, 2010

Last week, Sheryl Jasielum Shenberger was named by the Archivist of the United States as the first director of the National Declassification Center.

As director, Ms. Shenberger will be responsible for ensuring that the new Center achieves its initial operating capability when it starts operations in earnest next month.  The Center has been tasked by President Obama with eliminating the backlog of over 400 million pages of classified historical records, which must be declassified and made available to the public not later than the end of December 2013.  To meet this ambitious goal, the Center will have to process an average of 100 million pages each year, a tenfold increase over recent practice.

Ms. Shenberger has been a Central Intelligence Agency analyst and desk officer, and currently serves as a Branch Chief at the CIA Declassification Center."  

---30---

Yes, in 2010 President Obama appointed a former CIA analyst and desk officer as first Director of National Declassification Center.

More from the Federation of American Scientists: 

"Also last week, attorney William A. Burck was appointed to the Public Interest Declassification Board, which advises the White House on declassification policy.  Its membership is appointed by the White House, and by Congressional majority and minority leaders.

Mr. Burck was named to the Board by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).  According to his bio, he previously served as a Special Counsel to President George W. Bush, in which capacity he advised the President and other officials 'on major legal issues confronting the Administration.'"

---30---

So you get a CIA'er in a critical role regarding declassification, and a Bushie advising Obama on what to do, back in 2010.

So it goes, down through the administrations. Always more review, and review and some more review. 

Until the Biden Administration, which has declared Presidents can unilaterally and permanently withhold JFK Records. 

https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2010/05/declass_appts/

 

 

Ben,

     Obama retained/appointed a number of Bush/CIA people in his administration-- most notably Robert Gates. 

     Douglas Caddy recently posted some references links about Obama and the CIA, but I can't find them, or remember which thread they were on.

     There's also an old EF thread on the subject of continuities between the Dubya Bush and Obama administrations by Stephen Gaal entitled, George W. Obama?

 

 

[Benjamin Cole]

1 minute ago, W. Niederhut said:

Ben,

     Obama retained/appointed a number of Bush/CIA people in his administration-- most notably Robert Gates. 

     Douglas Caddy recently posted some references links about Obama and the CIA, but I can't find them, or remember which thread they were on.

     There's also an old EF thread on the subject of continuities between the Dubya Bush and Obama administrations by Stephen Gaal entitled, George W. Obama?

 

 

I should have added that President George Bush Sr. was the former head of the CIA.

So appointing Bushies to review declassification (as did McConnell) fails the conflict of appearances problem. We already know what any Bushies would do with any "sensitive" government documents that reflect poorly on the CIA. 

Unfortunately, the establishments of both major political parties cannot be relied upon to open the JFK Records (to put it mildly). Even now, 60 years after the event. 

The M$M media is aggressively apathetic. On social media we have no idea if government-approved algorithms are suffocating JFK Records posts. They will not go viral (maybe Twitter is clean now, but who really knows?). 

A DC outsider, such as a Trump or Sanders, might----a very thin "might"----open up the JFK Records. (This is not an endorsement of Trump or Sanders. Trump failed the test in flying colors once already. Sanders is an interesting possibility, but has had the D-nomination stolen from him twice.)

So it stands.

I wish Larry Schnapf-MFF every success. 

 

 

 

[W. Niederhut]

57 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

I should have added that President George Bush Sr. was the former head of the CIA.

A DC outsider, such as a Trump or Sanders, might----a very thin "might"----open up the JFK Records. (This is not an endorsement of Trump or Sanders. Trump failed the test in flying colors once already. Sanders is an interesting possibility, but has had the D-nomination stolen from him twice.)

 

Ben,

     Everyone knows that Poppy Bush was always a CIA man, and Ford's Director of the CIA.

     As for your notion that Trump "might...open up the JFK Records," where were you in October of 2017-- the Congressionally-mandated release date for the records?

     Do you, perchance, imagine that a "Donk" was the POTUS in October of 2017?  🤥

     As for my post, (above) it's about Barack Obama's curious history with the Company.

[Benjamin Cole]

44 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Ben,

     Everyone knows that Poppy Bush was always a CIA man, and Ford's Director of the CIA.

     As for your notion that Trump "might...open up the JFK Records," where were you in October of 2017-- the Congressionally-mandated release date for the records?

     Do you, perchance, imagine that a "Donk" was the POTUS in October of 2017?  🤥

     As for my post, (above) it's about Barack Obama's curious history with the Company.

I stated clearly that "Trump failed the test in flying colors once already." 

I have zero faith in the establishment wings of either party, Donk or 'Phant, to ever open up the JFK Records.  

The last best hope for opening the JFK Records was the outsider Trump, and he chickened out. 

Biden did not have to "chicken out," as he is on board for suppressing the JFK Records in perpetuity, and never feigned otherwise.  

I am not inclined to engage in the extremely tiresome blue-red kool-aid pissing wars on the topic of the JFK Records. 

Is there an Donk or 'Phant establishment hero on the JFK Records?

Where? Bush Sr.? Clinton? Bush Jr.? Obama? Biden?