NARA's JFK Assassination Records: 14 Declassified FBI & CIA Documents from 1954-1995
Explore 14 declassified FBI & CIA documents from NARA's JFK assassination records, spanning 1954-1995. Access National Archives files on JFK's security clearance.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds exactly 49,624 declassified files in our archive. Congress mandated the release of these files under the 1992 JFK Assassination Records Collection Act. Most of these pages sat in secure vaults for decades.
Now, the public can read the raw intelligence traffic that flowed before and after November 22, 1963.
Bottom line: A random sample of 14 JFK assassination records NARA released between 2017 and 2023 exposes the sheer bureaucratic footprint of the Cold War intelligence apparatus, spanning from 1954 security clearances to 1995 foreign liaison disputes.
CIA Security Clearances and Foreign Liaison: 1954-1995 Documents
The timeline of JFK assassination records stretches far beyond the 1960s. The earliest document in this sample predates the Kennedy presidency entirely.
On July 23, 1954, John E. Baker submitted a 104-10128-10118 — REQUEST COVERT SECURITY CLEARANCE BE GRANTED. (archives.gov PDF) to the Chief of the Special Security Division. This single page of paper highlights how early the CIA began building the covert networks that would later intersect with the assassination investigations.
JFK security clearance documents like this establish the baseline for who was trusted inside the agency's compartmentalized projects.
Fast forward to August 1995. The Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) was actively forcing the CIA to open its files. The agency generated 104-10332-10008 — ARRB-CIA ISSUES: FOREIGN LIAISON (archives.gov PDF) to manage the fallout.
Here is the reality:
Declassifying documents involving foreign intelligence services risks exposing decades-old alliances. The 1995 memo tracks the exact friction points between transparency mandates and allied intelligence pacts. It proves that thirty years after the assassination, the CIA was still fighting to keep foreign liaison relationships out of the public domain.
FBI Records JFK Assassination: 1958-1964 Field Memos
The Bureau's paper trail is just as extensive. FBI records JFK assassination researchers rely on often start years before the event.
In April 1958, Special Agent William F. Roemer sent 124-10201-10012 (archives.gov PDF) directly to the FBI Director. Roemer was a legendary mob investigator in Chicago. His early reports track the organized crime figures who would later become central to assassination conspiracy theories.
Post-assassination, the bureaucratic machinery went into overdrive. Field offices across the country began funneling raw data to Washington.
- February 19, 1963: The FBI Director sent 124-10294-10349 (archives.gov PDF) to the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in Miami, nine months before Dallas.
- January 3, 1964: SAC CV routed 124-10006-10372 (archives.gov PDF) to John J. Barrett, detailing immediate post-assassination leads.
- March 24, 1964: FBI Headquarters routed 124-10325-10175 (archives.gov PDF) to the Los Angeles field office to coordinate ongoing investigations.
The sheer volume of paper moving between HQ and field offices like Miami and Los Angeles illustrates the national scale of the FBI's dragnet.
Key Individuals and Operations: Oswald, Cobb, and Project LIEMPTY
The real value of declassified CIA documents 1954 through the 1960s lies in the operational details. The files track specific assets, surveillance targets, and internal panic.
Just five weeks after the assassination, M.D. Stevens routed a 104-10114-10158 — MEMO ON THE OSWALD CASE. (archives.gov PDF) to the Chief of the Research Branch.
The intelligence community was scrambling to map Lee Harvey Oswald's footprint. They were also managing ongoing operations in critical theaters like Mexico City.
| Document Title | Originator | Date | Topic Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 104-10414-10407 — DISPATCH-LIEMPTY PROJECT RENEWAL. (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 10/18/1962 | jfk-release-2022 |
| 104-10183-10008 — NOTE RE: FROM TELECON 18/11/63 WITH AMWHIP/1 (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 11/18/1963 | jfk-release-2022 |
| 104-10111-10185 — IDENTITY LIST RE VIOLA COBB. (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | Undated | jfk-release-2022 |
| 104-10077-10419 — DIRECTOR CABLE REQUESTING LIAISON TRACES. (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 12/12/1963 | jfk-release-2022 |
| 104-10267-10422 — WITHHELD (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 11/06/1963 | jfk-release-2017 |
Look at the LIEMPTY project renewal. The Mexico City station chief sent this dispatch to the Western Hemisphere Division just a year before Oswald's infamous visit to the city. LIEMPTY was a massive photographic surveillance operation targeting Soviet and Cuban installations.
These files don't exist in a vacuum. A telecon note regarding AMWHIP/1—a CIA asset involved in back-channel communications with Cuba—is dated November 18, 1963, exactly four days before the shooting in Dallas.
Even internal communications were highly restricted. The November 6, 1963 memo to Lawrence F. Barker remains heavily redacted, categorized simply as "WITHHELD" in its original processing.
HSCA Requests and Post-Assassination Investigations: 1978 Records
By the late 1970s, Congress stepped in. The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) began aggressively auditing both CIA and FBI files.
On April 6, 1978, B. Hugh Tovar sent the 104-10059-10258 — HSCA REQUEST FOR FILE ON GORDON MCLENDON. (archives.gov PDF) to the Special Assistant to the Deputy Director of Operations. McLendon was a prominent Texas broadcaster with deep intelligence ties.
The result?
The HSCA didn't just ask for files; they demanded names. The CIA produced a 104-10061-10115 — LIST OF NAMES RE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION INVESTIGATION. (archives.gov PDF) in February 1978. They also handed over raw notes, including 180-10144-10110 (archives.gov PDF), found in Box 22 of the committee's archives.
The committee also conducted direct interviews with key intelligence officers.
On August 9, 1978, the HSCA recorded the 180-10131-10322 — DEPOSITION OF DAVID E. MURPHY (archives.gov PDF). Murphy was the former chief of the CIA's Soviet Russia Division. His testimony was critical to understanding how the agency viewed Soviet defectors and intelligence assets during the Cold War.
Committee leadership actively managed these inquiries. An April 20, 1978 letter, 180-10078-10188 (archives.gov PDF), shows HSCA Chief Counsel G. Robert Blakey coordinating directly with Robert E. Chasen.
The Scope of National Archives Declassified Files
The National Archives declassified files extend far beyond domestic agencies. Our secondary sample of 9 documents proves the global scope of the intelligence dragnet.
Foreign intelligence services actively fed data to the FBI and CIA. The internal memos track everything from Soviet defectors to Miami-based anti-Castro operations.
| Document / Subject | Originating Agency | Date | Topic Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 124-90154-10124 — MI-5, DATED 2-9-67 (archives.gov PDF) | MI-5 / FBI | Undated | jfk-release-2017 |
| 104-10181-10060 — REPORT MRS. SLOBODA AND THREE CHILDREN LEFT LOND ABOARD SOVIET SHIP. (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 11/19/1960 | jfk-release-2017 |
| 104-10225-10040 — CABLE:COS JMWAVE SUGGESTED IN EARLY SEPTEMBER THAT IT (archives.gov PDF) | CIA | 12/01/1966 | jfk-release-2023 |
| 124-10200-10388 (archives.gov PDF) | DOJ / FBI | 06/20/1967 | jfk-release-2017 |
| 124-10213-10206 (archives.gov PDF) | FBI | 02/28/1969 | jfk-release-2017 |
| 124-10353-10328 (archives.gov PDF) | FBI | 07/26/1962 | jfk-release-2017 |
Notice the JMWAVE cable from 1966. JMWAVE was the CIA's massive covert station in Miami, operating heavily against Cuba. The fact that JMWAVE operational cables are included in the JFK assassination records NARA releases shows how tightly Cuba policy was woven into the assassination investigations.
Even British intelligence got involved. The 1967 MI-5 memo routed through the FBI demonstrates that allied nations were monitoring targets relevant to the Warren Commission's findings.
The Bureau continued to track leads well into the late 1960s. For example, John A. Ambler sent a memo to the FBI Director in February 1969, proving the file remained active long after the initial investigations closed.
Accessing the Declassified History
These records are not just historical curiosities. They are operational blueprints of how the U.S. intelligence community functioned during the height of the Cold War.
You can browse the full index of documents or filter by specific agencies directly on our site. We also categorize releases by year, so you can track how the topics evolve across the 2017, 2022, and 2023 NARA dumps.
Read our latest analysis on the blog, or start your own search from the homepage.
Quick takeaways:
- Early operations: JFK security clearance documents date back to 1954, proving the files cover far more than just November 1963.
- Global surveillance: Records like the 1962 LIEMPTY dispatch expose massive, ongoing surveillance programs that caught figures like Oswald in their net.
- Congressional friction: The 1978 HSCA document requests show a hostile tug-of-war between Congress and the CIA over specific operational files.
- International scope: Declassified files include intercepts from MI-5 and reports on Soviet ship departures, highlighting a global intelligence effort.
Source: Open intelligence disclosures · Not affiliated with the U.S. Government