National Archives to Open Additional JFK Materials
Press Release · Thursday, May 7, 1998

Washington, DC

At 9 AM on Wednesday, May 13, 1998, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will release approximately 17,000 additional pages of FBI records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The materials will be available for research in the textual research room of the College Park facility, located at 8601 Adelphi Road. This opening is pursuant to the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 that established the Collection, consisting of assassination-related records of the Federal government.

These newly-released records relate to various individuals and groups that were of interest to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) during the Committee’s investigation of the assassination. The files, which were reviewed by HSCA staff members to determine any relevance for the Committee’s purposes, consist of main files and related documents from other files for the subjects listed in the attachment. The JFK Collection already contains files on numerous HSCA subjects that were previously released. NARA will also release supplemental files on some subjects including Carlos Marcello, Angelo Bruno, and E. Howard Hunt.

Among the files included in this release is the JFK Correspondence/Administrative file which contains high level internal memoranda on a variety of topics, including the FBI monitoring of threats against the President and rumors regarding Kennedy’s personal life. The file also contains documentation describing anti-Kennedy propaganda and a few pieces of correspondence between Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover. Although the bulk of the files date from the Kennedy Presidency, a small number of files predate this period, beginning in 1947 during Kennedy’s first term in the House of Representatives. The files ends in 1976, with most post-Kennedy files relating to threats against Jacqueline Kennedy.

Research Room hours are: Monday and Wednesday 8:45 AM - 5 PM; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:45 AM - 9 PM; Saturday 8:45 AM - 4:45 PM. Research cards are required. Personal property, i.e. notebooks, briefcases, purses or fountain pens are not allowed in the research room. Lockers are available. Debit cards may be purchased for the photocopying machines.

DIRECTIONS to the National Archives at College Park:

BY CAR the facility is approximately 40 minutes from downtown Washington, DC. Take North Capitol Street north, turn right onto Michigan Avenue (Michigan Avenue becomes Queens Chapel Road in Maryland), continue to East West Highway, turn left on Adelphi Road and follow it to the National Archives entrance on the right. Parking is available.

BY SHUTTLE from the National Archives in Washington, DC board the bus on 7th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues. The shuttle leaves on the hour from 8 AM to 5 PM, returning to the downtown building on the hour. Researchers may use the shuttle on a space available basis with National Archives staff members receiving priority boarding.

BY METRO take the Green Line to the Prince Georges Plaza station. Board the R-3 Metro bus which stops at the College Park facility.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail.

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