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Don't Fleer Me, But Trump Did Something Right [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-01-26
In keeping with the adage of the clock which is correct twice a day, President Trump has performed a valuable service to the American People with one of his executive orders this week. As a historian, I look forward to reading the unclassified files regarding the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy. It will also be exciting to see what other historians will do with the information.
Do not expect some ultimate breakthrough in the public’s imagination regarding these cases. Finally releasing these files is unlikely to put to rest any remaining conspiracy questions. In fact, new information will likely create an opening for the Conspiracy Publication Complex to push out further products.
The service to the public and to the republic comes in two forms. First, in a democracy, transparency of government actions is the sine qua non of an institution that represents the will of the people - 60 to 70 years too late, to be sure, but better late than never. A bonus would come in public debate requests for openness in the face of future stonewalling, “You released the assassination files, why not show the same forthrightness now?” Of course, moral imperatives do not seem to hold much sway with the current administration, so it is unwise to hold ones breath other than to savor holding the moral high ground.
The second comes from the work of historians with the material, less in solving the mysteries about the crimes themselves, but about the policies and intrigue leading to the classification of material in the first place. There are likely “sources and methods” the intelligence community were reluctant to divulge. As the Assassination Records Act of 1992 stipulates, material that could prove “identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations” can be redacted. Contemporary to the events the threat to national security would be real and powerful. What, however, could make those data national security pertinent 60 years later, especially following the 30 year demise of the USSR? The answers could prove fascinating.
As exciting as the possibilities might be for history nerds and conspiracy fans alike, some cautions are warranted. The first comes in the wording of executive order itself which specifies some time imperatives (We will not necessarily see the material for as long as two months). A common misconception to address is that “The Government” is not monolithic — there is not a warehouse (like in the Raiders of the Lost Ark) in which all the “Great Secrets” are held. Desired information may lie within the labyrinth of bureacracies one could not imagine to search. Even if you do know where to search, as a human endeavor government is fallible in ways too great to enumerate. National security operatives have long proved adept at skirting the demands of FOIA type requests and Congressional inquiries — some files can be misnamed and therefore not searchable under the request, some get destroyed as result of accident, incompetence or aggressive file storage maintenence. Problematically, there is nothing prohibiting our security and defense agencies from transferring some documentation to private security and defense contractors where they are out of reach in normal requests for transparency.
Prepare to be excited, but prepare to be disappointed as well.
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