JFK Assassination Records: 23,950 Declassified Documents from the 2017–2018 NARA Releases
Explore the 23,950 JFK assassination declassified documents released by NARA between 2017 and 2018, including FBI and CIA files, now part of the public record.
The federal government generated millions of pages tracking the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the individuals surrounding it. Decades later, the NARA archives are still processing the paperwork. Between 2017 and 2018, the National Archives pushed a massive tranche of previously withheld material into the public record.
Bottom line: The JFK Assassination Records — 2017–2018 Release contains exactly 23,950 declassified documents, making it the largest single modern disclosure of FBI and CIA files related to the assassination.
Here is the thing: reading these files reveals that the government's tracking didn't start in November 1963, nor did it end there. The declassified government documents expose a surveillance apparatus that spanned decades and crossed international borders.
The Scale of the 2017–2018 JFK Assassination Records Release
To understand the weight of the 2017–2018 release, you have to look at the subsequent document drops. The government did not release everything at once.
Instead, NARA staggered the declassification over several years. The 2017–2018 window remains the undisputed heavyweight of these disclosures.
| Declassified Collection | Document Count |
|---|---|
| JFK Assassination Records — 2017–2018 Release | 23,950 |
| JFK Assassination Records — 2022 Release | 10,536 |
| JFK Assassination Records — 2025 Release | 2,706 |
| JFK Assassination Records — 2023 Release | 2,677 |
| JFK Assassination Records — 2021 Release | 1,484 |
That is 41,353 documents released over an eight-year span. The 2017–2018 wave accounts for more than half of that total. This specific collection forms the backbone of the public record JFK assassination archive.
FBI Contributions to the JFK Assassination Public Record
The FBI's footprint in this collection is massive. Field offices from across the country were feeding raw intelligence back to headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Take 124-10290-10375 (archives.gov PDF), a textual document sent from the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in Los Angeles to the FBI Director. Dated March 21, 1968, it shows active federal monitoring years after the Warren Commission concluded its work.
Or look earlier at 124-10324-10438 (archives.gov PDF), originating from New York on July 27, 1961. These aren't just post-assassination investigations. The bureau was heavily tracking related figures well before the events in Dallas.
The Geographic Spread of FBI Field Memos
The FBI CIA JFK files show that the investigation was not centralized. It required coordination across dozens of domestic field offices.
- San Francisco: Document 124-90041-10088 — CR 105-93369-1 (archives.gov PDF) was sent from SF to HQ on November 23, 1960.
- Miami: Document 124-90076-10060 (archives.gov PDF) was routed from MM to HQ on October 22, 1969.
- San Juan: Document 124-10285-10273 (archives.gov PDF) shows the SAC in SJ reporting to the Acting Director on May 24, 1973.
- Dallas: Document 124-90078-10006 (archives.gov PDF) was sent from DL to HQ on June 14, 1963, five months before the assassination.
The result? A massive paper trail that proves the FBI was actively monitoring peripheral figures across the entire United States and its territories.
CIA Intelligence in Declassified JFK Files
While the FBI handled domestic tracking, the CIA's records expose international surveillance and internal financial tracking. The NARA JFK records 2017 2018 release contains some of the agency's most sensitive operational cables.
The most critical intercepts involve Lee Harvey Oswald's movements in Mexico. Document 104-10195-10351 — CABLE: OSWALD'S CALL TO THE SOVIET EMBASSY ON 28 SEPTEMBER 1963 (archives.gov PDF) is a stark example. Sent from the Mexico station to the Director on November 23, 1963—the day after the assassination—it details Oswald's contact with Soviet officials just weeks prior.
Other files highlight highly specific administrative receipts. Document 104-10120-10596 — MEMO:KIMSEY, HERMAN EDWARD - RECEIPT FOR $38, FROM COLONEL SHEFFIELD EDWARDS (archives.gov PDF) documents a minor $38 transaction in 1975. This shows how deeply the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) probed agency finances during their review.
Operational Communications Before Secure Networks
Truth is: the intelligence community in 1960 operated very differently than it does today. The methods of communication were often surprisingly mundane.
Look at 104-10174-10031 — WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM: NO WORD YET (archives.gov PDF). This CIA document from May 5, 1960, was sent via a commercial Western Union telegram to a Henry Darkin. The originator's name is still withheld.
These JFK assassination declassified documents prove that operatives relied on public infrastructure to move intelligence before modern encrypted networks existed.
A Decades-Long Timeline of Intelligence Gathering
The summaries attached to these files provide a roadmap of federal surveillance. We can see exactly who was communicating and when.
The records span from 1960 telegrams to 1978 HSCA memos, and even into the late 1990s. The assassination was a single day, but the intelligence apparatus surrounding it operated for decades.
| Document Title | Originator | Date | Routing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 124-10282-10008 (archives.gov PDF) | FBI | 04/07/1961 | SAC PG to Director |
| 124-90142-10067 (archives.gov PDF) | FBI | 04/06/1965 | NY to DL |
| 124-10293-10301 (archives.gov PDF) | FBI | 10/10/1967 | SAC NY to Director |
| 104-10135-10293 — MEMO FOR THE RECORD ON HSCA REQUEST. (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 05/19/1978 | To R. Gabrielson |
| 124-10378-10096 (archives.gov PDF) | FBI | 04/18/1997 | HQ to CG |
Notice the 1997 date on the final document in that table. That file was routed from FBI Headquarters to Chicago more than 30 years after Kennedy's death. The paper trail simply refused to die.
Other Significant Declassified Collections from NARA
The JFK files aren't the only massive historical disclosures currently available. NARA continues to process thousands of pages related to other 1960s civil rights and political figures.
Two major upcoming collections stand out in the archive:
- Martin Luther King Jr.: The MLK Jr. FBI Surveillance Records — 2025 Release contains 6,302 documents. These files detail the bureau's intense, controversial tracking of the civil rights leader.
- Robert F. Kennedy: The Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Records — 2025 Release includes 1,969 documents. This collection sheds light on the intelligence gathered around his 1968 murder in Los Angeles.
Just like the JFK records, these collections rely heavily on FBI field office memos and CIA operational cables. They represent the definitive public record of the intelligence community's actions during the 1960s.
Quick Takeaways
- The 2017–2018 NARA release of 23,950 documents remains the largest single disclosure of JFK assassination records.
- Federal intelligence gathering started years before the event, evidenced by 1960 and 1961 FBI memos from San Francisco and New York.
- CIA cables, like the November 1963 Mexico station intercept, provide direct timelines of Oswald's foreign contacts.
- The government's internal tracking of these files continued well into the 1990s, generating even more administrative paperwork.
Source: Open intelligence disclosures · Not affiliated with the U.S. Government