Congressman Renews Call for Genuine Transparency in the JFK Files

[Benjamin Cole]

From Jeff Morley's Substack:

Congressman Renews Call for Genuine Transparency in the JFK Files

Rep. Steve Cohen connects ongoing government secrecy to rising public mistrust

 

CHAD NAGLE

FEB 27, 2024

 

 

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) chairs the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Justice of the House Judiciary Committee. He represents the 9th district in Shelby and Tipton Counties, including the city of Memphis. (Credit: Greg Nash)

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee has renewed his call for the release of the remaining withheld files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The website of Rep. Cohen, the lone Democrat in the Volunteer State’s congressional delegation, announced the letter in a press release on Friday, Feb. 23. Noting the enduring public interest in the mystery surrounding JFK’s death, he cited the popularity of recent hit podcast “Who Killed JFK?,” hosted by filmmaker Rob Reiner and news personality Soledad O’Brien, as well as the sensational revelation of former Secret Service Agent Paul Landis that he found a bullet in the presidential limousine at Parkland Hospital (albeit, Rep. Cohen says erroneously that it was on the floor of the car).

Rep. Cohen is among the most activist members of Congress on the issue of full disclosure in the JFK files. In November 2017, his office issued a statement noting that, in postponing release of the remaining files in the JFK Collection at the National Archives, President Donald Trump had “failed to comply” with the JFK Records Act, which was passed unanimously by Congress in 1992 and set a deadline for release of Oct. 26, 2017.

Together with other members of the House, Cohen addressed several letters of appeal on the subject, several co-signed with other members of Congress, including:

• In October 2021, to President Biden, noting “that the majority of Americans, across demographic groups, do not believe the official narrative.”

• In November 2021, to President Biden, saying it was “unacceptable to use the pandemic as a reason to further delay the release of these documents.”

• In March 2022, seeking a meeting with “the appropriate Executive Branch official with knowledge and relevant information of the decision to postpone the release of the remaining records.”

• In October 2022, to the chairman of the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB), noting that continuing secrecy had “furthered public skepticism regarding the facts of the assassination, with nearly 61 percent of Americans in 2017 believing there to have been a conspiracy in President Kennedy’s murder.”

 

 

Excerpt from a letter to President Biden, co-signed by Representatives Steve Cohen, Anna Eshoo, Jim McGovern, Sara Jacobs, and Joe Neguse, on Oct. 7, 2021.

In November 2022, Cohen became one of the first guests interviewed on the JFK Facts Podcast, and the following month, he publicly expressed disappointment that the most recent declassification of documents – on Dec. 15, 2022 – was only “partial.”

His most recent statement notes that “many Americans have become distrustful of the federal government” and draws a link between this distrust and continued secrecy over JFK’s murder. He has also opined that the ongoing policy of concealment has contributed to the rise of irresponsible conspiracy theories in American political discourse.

Quoting late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis that “sunlight is the best disinfectant,” Rep. Cohen writes:

President Kennedy’s assassination has always been the subject of conspiracy theories. The governmental secrecy and recent delay in the release of the documents only perpetuates this type of thinking. If the papers demonstrate different circumstances or additional actors were involved, so be it. If the documents support the Warren Commission’s findings or further support the work of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, so be it. If they implicate or embarrass the CIA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or any other governmental agency, the public has a right to know. After 60 years, it is time to quash the conspiracy theories and demonstrate the federal government’s accountability to the people.

Congressman Cohen serves on the House Judiciary Committee, one of six committees to have been sent H. R. 637 – the Justice for Kennedy Act – in January 2023. The bill calls for immediate release of all assassination related files held by six federal agencies (including the Internal Revenue Service) within 30 days of passage. Introduced by a Republican, David Schweikert of Arizona, H. R. 637 has so far received no co-sponsorship offers from any House members on the Democratic side of the aisle.