JFK files released
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Yet another facepalm moment for the administration.
Sensitive personal information including Social Security numbers was revealed in the newly unredacted John F. Kennedy assassination documents released this week, and that is not sitting well with the people affected.
Joseph diGenova, a former campaign lawyer for President Donald Trump, was among those whose personal information was disclosed. He said he is planning to sue the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration for violating privacy laws over concerns about identity theft.
“It should not have happened,” diGenova said in a phone interview Thursday. “I think it’s the result of incompetent people doing the reviewing. I don’t believe it had anything to do with rushing the process. The people who reviewed these documents did not do their job.”
His personal information was on documents relating to his work for a U.S. Senate select committee that investigated abuses of power by government officials in the 1970s, including the surveillance of U.S. citizens.
Officials at the White House said Thursday that a plan was in place to help those whose personal information was disclosed, including credit monitoring offered by the National Archives until new Social Security numbers are issued. Officials also said they are still screening the records to identify all the Social Security numbers that were released..
“President Trump delivered on his promise of maximum transparency by fully releasing the files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “At the request of the White House, the National Archives and the Social Security Administration immediately put together an action plan to proactively help individuals whose personal information was released in the files.”
The White House press office also released a statement from the National Archives.
“In an effort to maximize transparency, these records were released without redactions and some of these records contain the personal identification information of living individuals,” the statement said. “The National Archives and Records Administration and the Social Security Administration are working closely together to protect the individuals who may be affected from their information being exploited.””
