I spent Friday at the Archives II in College Park Maryland in search of this Dec. 10, 1963 FBI report on the Bureua’s handling of the Lee Harvey Oswald file before JFK was killed.
At right is the version available on the Mary Ferrell site. The accompanying RIF sheet states the document is “released in full.”
I pulled the document at Archives II and it is not “released in full.” It remains heavily redacted. These black marks are a reminder that the Trump administration has yet to enforce the JFK Records Act.
So we have to wait until April 28 to see if the FBI is going to do the right thing and release this document in its entirety.
I understand why FBI might be reluctant. The Bureau’s handling of the Oswald file in late 1963 was influenced by the CIA in ways that the both agencies would prefer not to disclose, probably because it involves CIA “sources and methods” related to pre-assassination the surveillance of Oswald.
Hence the redactions on a 54 year old government record that was supposed to be made public in its entirety five months ago.
Read Trump’s letter here on how the Act will be enforced by April 28.
My interest in the uncensored version of this document is related to my interest in Marvin Gheesling, FBI agent who handled the Bureau’s Oswald file from 1959 to 1963. I want to understand the FBI’s “flash cancellation” of October 9, 1963, which Jean Davison has excavated in some detail.
If you want to help research this very interesting moment in the JFK story, you can help.
–Search the new JFK files, which are online at Black Vault. Search for “Gheesling” and collect all documents and put them in a folder. Make note of any records about him that seem interesting or bear on his pre-assassination knowledge of Oswald.
Thanks