Q&A on the News

Q: I was in high school when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I remember a news story that stated certain documents related to the event would remain sealed for 50 years. Has anything been unsealed? —Fred Hart, Atlanta

A: The National Archives and Records Administration states on its website that the Kennedy assassination records "are largely open and available to the research community" at the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Record Collection in College Park, Md. The Warren Commission Report is available online at www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report. The NARA has 5 million pages of records, including material from the Kennedy, Johnson and Ford presidential libraries, "records of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, records of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a small amount of material from a variety of other agencies, including the Office of Naval Intelligence," the website states. The NARA states that a "few" records remain sealed, and the "documents that are closed in full or in part were done so in accordance with the Kennedy Act," created by Congress in 1992. Records that remain sealed until 2017 or beyond include files regarding George Joannides, a former CIA agent, now dead, who had connections to Lee Harvey Oswald, according to The Associated Press. Other classified files include confidential sources or involve national security. "The classified information contained in the files remains subject to the declassification provisions of the act," a CIA spokesman told the AP.

Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).