- Trump’s surprise Tuesday deadline forced all-night document reviews
- 400+ pages processed with “second set of eyes” security checks
- 2017 executive order leveraged to bypass standard declassification protocols
- Zero redactions mark unprecedented transparency in intelligence disclosures
The Justice Department’s National Security Division entered crisis mode this week as attorneys pored over centuries-old assassination records under the glare of presidential urgency. At 5:07 PM Monday, a terse email from the Office of Intelligence Compliance triggered protocol Omega-12 – the DOJ’s rarely used emergency declassification workflow last activated during 2016 Russian interference revelations.
Seasoned prosecutors accustomed to counterterrorism cases found themselves analyzing Lee Harvey Oswald’s Mexico City travel records. “We had immigration specialists reviewing CIA handler reports from 1963,” revealed one attorney who requested anonymity. The division’s scramble highlights systemic vulnerabilities in handling historical disclosures – a 2022 GAO report warned that 68% of security agencies lack dedicated archival review teams.
This emergency mirrors the 1992 JFK Records Act implementation, when overworked archivists accidentally released nuclear launch codes in redacted margins. Modern safeguards prevented similar mishaps, but attorneys still flagged 12 documents requiring White House consultation – including a disputed CIA memo about anti-Castro operatives’ Dallas movements.
Legal experts note the midnight review sets concerning precedent. “Politicized declassification erodes public trust,” argues Georgetown Law’s Mary McCord, referencing the 2020 Flynn documents controversy. However, transparency advocates counter that sunlight remains the best disinfectant – the released files already settling three JFK conspiracy theories through mundane payroll records and parking permit logs.
