# Plain Language Summary: The JFK Act of 2023

This bill requires the federal government to release all documents and information related to President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Specifically, it orders six major government agencies—the National Archives, the FBI, the CIA, the Defense Department, the State Department, and the IRS—to publicly disclose everything they have about the assassination within 30 days of the law passing. The documents must be released in their complete, unclassified form with nothing redacted or hidden.

The bill is designed to override existing rules that have allowed the government to keep some JFK assassination records secret. It specifically overrides a presidential memorandum from December 2022 that had extended the secrecy of certain records, as well as older laws that permitted the government to withhold assassination-related information. Essentially, this bill says that transparency about the Kennedy assassination takes priority over all other secrecy laws and protections.

The bill also requires the Attorney General to go to court and ask judges to unseal any assassination records that are currently locked away under court orders or grand jury secrecy rules. The law treats requests to release these sealed records as automatically meeting the legal standard needed to justify disclosure, making it easier for the government to convince courts to open them up.

For the average citizen, this means that decades of potentially classified information about one of America's most significant historical events would become publicly available. Anyone interested in the Kennedy assassination could access government files that have previously been kept secret, though it's worth noting that the bill doesn't guarantee the release will answer all lingering questions—it only requires that whatever records exist be made public.

JFK Act of 2023

Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-1]

Justice for Kennedy Act of 2023 or the JFK Act of 2023 This bill directs the National Archives and Records Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State to publicly disclose in unclassified and unredacted form any assassination record and information in their control or possession relevant to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Department of Justice must petition any court in the United States or in a foreign country to publicly disclose in such form any assassination record and information relevant to the assassination of President Kennedy that is held under seal of the court or under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury.