President Joseph Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law on December 27, 2021. Section 1685 of the NDAA includes a requirement that the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) conduct “a study on the feasibility of carrying out a declassification review relating to nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, or ballistic missile … Continue reading FY2022 NDAA Mandates Feasibility Study of Declassification Review for Marshall Islands Weapons Tests
Category: Declassification
JFK Assassination Records Release, December 15, 2021
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on December 15, 2021, released 1,491 documents from the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection and posted them online. These documents were previously released in redacted form. This release was required by President Biden’s October 22, 2021 memorandum to agencies on the public disclosure of records in … Continue reading JFK Assassination Records Release, December 15, 2021
President Biden Issues Memorandum on the Public Release of Withheld JFK Assassination Records, Sets New Disclosure Deadline
On October 22, 2021, President Biden issued a memorandum that sets new deadlines for the public disclosure of about 14,000 records that remain classified in the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection (JFK Records) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Originally scheduled for release on October 25, 2017, then-President Trump certified agency requests … Continue reading President Biden Issues Memorandum on the Public Release of Withheld JFK Assassination Records, Sets New Disclosure Deadline
FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act Recognizes the Need for a New Classification Policy for Space Information to Reduce Over-Classification
The Armed Services Committee in the House of Representatives included a provision in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that directs the Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force to oversee a classification review of space information with the intent of either declassifying or reducing the classification levels of space … Continue reading FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act Recognizes the Need for a New Classification Policy for Space Information to Reduce Over-Classification
PIDB Comments on the National Archives Draft Strategic Plan
The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) was established to promote “the fullest possible access to a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of significant ... national security decisions and … activities.” This mandate reflects an underlying premise of representative democracy: citizens’ access to information about Government is essential to their informed decisions and their ability … Continue reading PIDB Comments on the National Archives Draft Strategic Plan
PIDB Recommends the Prioritized Declassification of 9/11 Records
The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) promotes the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of significant U.S. national security decisions and activities. The PIDB reviews and makes recommendations to the President for the identification, collection, and review for declassification of information of extraordinary public interest. In anticipation of the … Continue reading PIDB Recommends the Prioritized Declassification of 9/11 Records
House Judiciary Committee Calls for the Declassification of 9/11 Records
Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before the House Judiciary Committee at the "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" public hearing. The full Judiciary Committee hearing can be found at: https://judiciary.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=4581 During this hearing, Judiciary Committee members requested that Director Wray focus resources toward the declassification of 9/11 records. Congressman Ted Deutch, asked Director Wray to commit to a full and … Continue reading House Judiciary Committee Calls for the Declassification of 9/11 Records
A Call for Transparency of the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile Number
The United States government has long held the practice of publicly providing an annual count of the number of nuclear weapons in the U.S. nuclear stockpile or the number of weapons that had been dismantled. While there were occasional “pauses” in this practice, it continued through the Obama administration and as recent as 2017. However, … Continue reading A Call for Transparency of the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile Number
Space Operations Chief Decries Over-classification and its Effect on Operations
Speaking last week (March 3, 2021) at a virtual event hosted by the National Press Club, the U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond reiterated complaints about the over-classification of space information previously voiced by several U.S. Space Force and military officials. Gen. Raymond particularly stressed the importance of reducing over-classification to … Continue reading Space Operations Chief Decries Over-classification and its Effect on Operations
FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting Focuses on the Use of Technology in FOIA Processing; Access to Congressional Records and Reports
Yesterday (3/3/2021), the quarterly meeting of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee focused on the question of whether the FOIA should apply to Legislative and Judicial branch records. The committee heard briefings from public interest groups on this issue, as well as general reports from subcommittees about their priorities. The Technology Subcommittee continues … Continue reading FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting Focuses on the Use of Technology in FOIA Processing; Access to Congressional Records and Reports