The JFK Act of 2025 (Justice for Kennedy Act of 2025) would require the heads of several federal departments and agencies to publicly disclose all assassination records and information relevant to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy within 30 days of enactment, and to do so in unclassified and unredacted form. The bill also directs the Attorney General to file petitions in courts (U.S. or foreign) to obtain and publicly disclose any assassination records held under seal or under grand jury secrecy, with a particularized-need showing. The requirements are stated to override various existing laws and memos governing JFK records, tax records, and other confidentiality rules. The act defines which officials are “covered” and what counts as an “assassination record,” aligning them with prior Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act (ARCA) definitions. In short, the bill accelerates and broadens the public release of JFK assassination records, seeks to pierce remaining legal barriers to disclosure, and expands the role of the Attorney General in compelling court-ordered disclosure of sealed materials.
Key Points
- 130-day disclosure deadline: Each covered Federal official must publicly disclose, in unclassified and unredacted form, any JFK assassination records in their control or possession within 30 days after enactment.
- 2Overrides of existing law: The disclosure mandate applies notwithstanding
- 3- the 2022 Presidential Memorandum on JFK record certifications,
- 4- ARCA Act provisions (Section 5(g)(2)(D) and Section 6),
- 5- IRS tax-record confidentiality provisions (Section 6103(l)(17)),
- 6- and any other law that would conflict with the 30-day disclosure requirement.
- 7AG petitions for public disclosure of sealed records: The Attorney General must, within 30 days, petition courts (U.S. or foreign) to publicly disclose in unclassified and unredacted form any JFK assassination records held under seal or under grand jury secrecy injunctions.
- 8Particularized-need standard: Requests for disclosure via court petitions are treated as showing particularized need under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, facilitating access to sealed materials.
- 9Definitions and scope: “Assassination record” follows the ARCA Act definition, and “covered Federal official” includes the Archivist of the United States, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Director of the CIA, the Director of the FBI, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State. The Attorney General is tasked with actions related to sealed records, even though not explicitly listed as a “covered official” in the enumerated group.