all right now this is fascinating the National Archives has released more than 13 000 files related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas Texas while riding in his motorcade in 1963. an investigation concluded he was murdered by former Marine Lee Harvey Oswald who had lived in the former Soviet Union CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O'Keefe has more on what the documents say what really happened that day it was the 1991 release of the movie JFK by director Oliver Stone that revived conspiracy theories and
prompted a new law ordering the classified documents related to the Kennedy assassination be released by October 2017. but then president Donald Trump pushed back the release date citing National Security concerns and President Biden gave agencies until yesterday to release most of the rest President Biden believes all information related to President Kennedy's assassination should be released to the greatest extent possible the release includes a document detailing how the CIA intercepted in October 1963 phone call suspected Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald made while in Mexico City to the Soviet Embassy just weeks before that fateful day in
Dallas in broken Russian Oswald asks an embassy employee if there's anything new about his application for a visa to the USSR the CIA says it's not released more than and 95 percent of its JFK documents but Jefferson Morley leads a group suing the Biden Administration to get the rest this is our history this isn't the cia's history this is the history that belongs to the American people and the law could not be clearer about the need for full disclosure now and the CI is still dragging its feet and Ed is at the White House to
talk some more about this Ed uh well we did this story on CBS mornings as part of what to watch I got so many tweets from people who wanted me to reference that you because you showed a clip of JFK in your piece back and to the left back and to the left but let's talk about these documents is there anything that is going to be revealing for the public those uh folks who have not followed the trials and tribulations of getting these things out to the public eye is there going to be anything surprising
in there not necessarily the the basic premise of what happened that day or what is believed to have happened that day has not changed based on the release of what the documents uh show us that were released yesterday at least what there's concern about among the groups suing and others that have been concerned about the lack of transparency from the CIA especially is that they're still covering up something or someone who may have known more about Lee Harvey Oswald in the months leading up to the assassination then the agency wants to admit part of what
they explained in their statement yesterday after the release is that there are some sources and methods which is a phrase we hear a lot about when it comes to intelligence agencies concerned about showing too much of their work sources and methods to date to the 1990s and so you're in essence still within uh you know a sphere of time where you don't want to be revealing that information because those people are still alive or it's just too recent and there could be some kind of Retribution because of those that were involved in it but otherwise
most of it's here and and I you know myself about 10 other people in the DC beer we're scouring these things yesterday looking to see what kind of information is there perhaps the most interesting is what we mentioned in the piece just more details about a visit that Oswald had made to Mexico in the weeks leading up to the assassination as he was apparently attempting to try to get back to the USSR turns out the U.S was tapping phones into the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City the Mexican president was aware of this as well and
it was his office that tipped off the CAA that Oswald had been making calls into the Soviet Embassy the day after the assassination which prompted Federal authorities to go down to Mexico talk to them with the Mexican authorities about what had gone on and see if anybody down there knew anything more so just an example of the leads that were that were followed in the wake of the assassination to try to figure out who he was and whether he was acting alone as the Warren Commission eventually concluded or was part of some broader conspiracy and
it also helps explain why the suspicion why the conspiracy theory since there were these threads at the time but for younger viewers who may not be aware I mean they this incident was seismic it captivated the country the assassination of a particularly popular and charismatic president that some would argue change the direction of the United States and as such um the world to your point Ed you know methods sensitive methods may have been revealed in some of these documents and so thousands of records are still being kept Under Wraps talk to us more about the
full explanation for why even some aspects of this will remain hidden it's essentially you know discretion given to these national security agencies that if they believe there is something way too sensitive way too Electric in the details there maybe it'll upset some kind of relationship we have with another country uh or with sources that may still be alive then they're going to withhold those documents and the executive orders that both president Trump and Biden signed pushing the agencies to do this said look we understand there may be some things in there you don't want to
share with the wider World fine but most of this needs to get out next year marks 60 years since the assassination and as President Biden said in his executive order yesterday releasing these documents most of the information there and the potential blast radius of them if you will uh just it doesn't hold up anymore and it's time to get this information out there I heard an interesting snack guys a few weeks ago when we were at the Kennedy Center Honors which air later this month on CBS and they were talking about this new exhibit that's
at the Kennedy Center here in Washington and point out the fact to your point Barrel two-thirds of Americans were not alive during the Kennedy presidency and have no real Vivid or immediate recollection of what was going on at that time but certainly as you said remains a critical moment in world history and really changed the course of this country yeah it's nothing like it has happened since thankfully uh Ed O'Keefe at the White House great to see you thank you very much take care all right still
