Trump frustrated by secrecy with JFK files
It was a showdown 25 years in the making: With the world itching to finally get a look at classified Kennedy assassination files  and the deadline for their release just hours away  intelligence officials were still angling for a way to keep their secrets.  President Donald Trump  the one man able to block the release   did not appreciate  their  persistence.  He  did not intend to make this easy.
Like much else surrounding investigations of the 1963 killing of President John F. Kennedy  Thursday's release of 2 800 records from the JFK files was anything but smooth. It came together only at the last minute  with White House lawyers still fielding late-arriving requests for additional redactions in the morning and an irritated  Trump  continuing to resist signing off on the request  according to an account by two White House officials. They spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.
The tale of the final hours before the congressionally mandated 25-year release deadline adds a new chapter to the story of  Trump 's troubled relationship with  his  spy agencies.  He  again flashed  his  skepticism and unpredictability in dealing with agencies long accustomed to a level of deference. Intelligence officials  meanwhile  were again left scratching their heads about a president whose impulses they cannot predict.
And those officials had their own story tell  some rejecting the notion they were slow to act on  Trump 's expectations for the documents. The CIA began work months ago to get its remaining assassination-related documents ready for release on Thursday  according to a person familiar with the process. The person  who was not authorized to publicly to discuss the process and spoke only on condition of anonymity  said the goal was to have all the agency's documents ready to be released in full or with national security redactions before the deadline.
Since taking office   Trump  has challenged the integrity of intelligence leaders  moved to exert more control over U.S. spying agencies and accused  his  predecessor of using government spycraft to monitor  his  campaign. In the JFK files matter  one White House official said   Trump  wanted to make clear he wouldn't be bullied by the agencies.
Whatever occurred in the lead-up to deadline day   Trump  was irritated Thursday that agencies still were arguing for more redactions.  The president  earlier in the week had tweeted to tease the release of the documents  heightening the sense of drama on a subject that has sparked the imaginations of conspiracy theorists for decades. Under a 1992 law  all of the records related to the assassination were to be made public unless explicitly withheld by  the president .
Just before the release Thursday   Trump  wrote in a memorandum that  he  had "no choice" but to agree to requests from the CIA and FBI to keep thousands of documents secret because of the possibility that releasing the information could still harm national security. Two aides said  Trump  was upset by what  he  perceived to be overly broad secrecy requests  adding that the agencies had been explicitly warned about  his  expectation that redactions be kept to a minimum.
Late last week   Trump  received his first official briefing on the release in an Oval Office meeting that included Chief of Staff John Kelly  White House Counsel Don McGahn and National Security Council legal adviser John Eisenberg.  Trump  made it clear  he  was unsatisfied with the pace of declassification.
 Trump 's tweets  an official said  were meant as a signal to the intelligence community to take seriously  his  threats to release the documents in their entirety.
According to White House officials   Trump  accepted that some of the records contained references to sensitive sources and methods used by the intelligence community and law enforcement and that declassification could harm American foreign policy interests. But after having the scope of the redactions presented to him   Trump  told aides  he  did not believe them to be in the spirit of the law.
On Thursday   Trump 's top aides presented  him  with an alternative to simply acquiescing to the agency requests:  He  could temporarily allow the redactions while ordering the agencies to launch a new comprehensive examination of the records still withheld or redacted in part.  Trump  accepted the suggestion  ordering that agencies be "extremely circumspect" about keeping the remaining documents secret at the end of the 180-day assessment.
"After strict consultation with General Kelly  the CIA and other agencies  I will be releasing ALL JFK files other than the names and addresses of any mentioned person who is still living  " Trump  wrote in a Friday tweet. "I am doing this for reasons of full disclosure  transparency and in order to put any and all conspiracy theories to rest."
It was a showdown 25 years in the making: With the world itching to finally get a look at classified Kennedy assassination files  and the deadline for their release just hours away  intelligence officials were still angling for a way to keep their secrets.   [TGT] the one man able to block the release   did not appreciate  their  persistence.  He  did not intend to make this easy.
Like much else surrounding investigations of the 1963 killing of President John F. Kennedy  Thursday's release of 2 800 records from the JFK files was anything but smooth. It came together only at the last minute  with White House lawyers still fielding late-arriving requests for additional redactions in the morning and an irritated   [TGT]   continuing to resist signing off on the request  according to an account by two White House officials. They spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.
The tale of the final hours before the congressionally mandated 25-year release deadline adds a new chapter to the story of  Trump 's troubled relationship with  his  spy agencies.  He  again flashed  his  skepticism and unpredictability in dealing with agencies long accustomed to a level of deference. Intelligence officials  meanwhile  were again left scratching their heads about a president whose impulses they cannot predict.
And those officials had their own story tell  some rejecting the notion they were slow to act on  Trump 's expectations for the documents. The CIA began work months ago to get its remaining assassination-related documents ready for release on Thursday  according to a person familiar with the process. The person  who was not authorized to publicly to discuss the process and spoke only on condition of anonymity  said the goal was to have all the agency's documents ready to be released in full or with national security redactions before the deadline.
Since taking office   Trump  has challenged the integrity of intelligence leaders  moved to exert more control over U.S. spying agencies and accused  his  predecessor of using government spycraft to monitor  his  campaign. In the JFK files matter  one White House official said   Trump  wanted to make clear he wouldn't be bullied by the agencies.
Whatever occurred in the lead-up to deadline day   Trump  was irritated Thursday that agencies still were arguing for more redactions.  The president  earlier in the week had tweeted to tease the release of the documents  heightening the sense of drama on a subject that has sparked the imaginations of conspiracy theorists for decades. Under a 1992 law  all of the records related to the assassination were to be made public unless explicitly withheld by  the president .
Just before the release Thursday   Trump  wrote in a memorandum that  he  had "no choice" but to agree to requests from the CIA and FBI to keep thousands of documents secret because of the possibility that releasing the information could still harm national security. Two aides said  Trump  was upset by what  he  perceived to be overly broad secrecy requests  adding that the agencies had been explicitly warned about  his  expectation that redactions be kept to a minimum.
Late last week   Trump  received his first official briefing on the release in an Oval Office meeting that included Chief of Staff John Kelly  White House Counsel Don McGahn and National Security Council legal adviser John Eisenberg.  Trump  made it clear  he  was unsatisfied with the pace of declassification.
 Trump 's tweets  an official said  were meant as a signal to the intelligence community to take seriously  his  threats to release the documents in their entirety.
According to White House officials   Trump  accepted that some of the records contained references to sensitive sources and methods used by the intelligence community and law enforcement and that declassification could harm American foreign policy interests. But after having the scope of the redactions presented to him   Trump  told aides  he  did not believe them to be in the spirit of the law.
On Thursday   Trump 's top aides presented  him  with an alternative to simply acquiescing to the agency requests:  He  could temporarily allow the redactions while ordering the agencies to launch a new comprehensive examination of the records still withheld or redacted in part.  Trump  accepted the suggestion  ordering that agencies be "extremely circumspect" about keeping the remaining documents secret at the end of the 180-day assessment.
"After strict consultation with General Kelly  the CIA and other agencies  I will be releasing ALL JFK files other than the names and addresses of any mentioned person who is still living  " Trump  wrote in a Friday tweet. "I am doing this for reasons of full disclosure  transparency and in order to put any and all conspiracy theories to rest."