Author Archives: Robert

The state of the JFK ARC: The IG report

For those not familiar with the subject of this post, I have a new page introducing the JFK Assassination Records Collection (a link is at the top of the blog page). This should help make the discussion a little more … Continue reading

Posted in History, JFK ARC | Comments Off on The state of the JFK ARC: The IG report

New reports on the ARC releases

I have recently come across two 2018 reports on the final (?) ARC releases from NARA. The first of the two is Special Report No. 18-SR-07 and was released on 29 March 2018. It was issued by NARA Inspector- General … Continue reading

Posted in JFK ARC | Comments Off on New reports on the ARC releases

A note on ACRS “audit history”

In my previous post I noted that a field in the metadata form (RIF) had been changed at some point in the early 2000s for a number of records in the JFK Assassination Records Collection (ARC). This change made it … Continue reading

Posted in JFK ARC | Comments Off on A note on ACRS “audit history”

More on the “old RIF numbers” at Mary Ferrell

This post is a continuation of my April 2018 post on the “old RIF numbers” formerly used in the JFK Assassination Record Collection (ARC) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This ID system is no longer used at … Continue reading

Posted in History, JFK ARC | Comments Off on More on the “old RIF numbers” at Mary Ferrell

ARRB postponements and the microfilm Oswald 201 file

Most of my recent spare time has gone into looking at the ARRB record notices published in the Federal Register (see here for an earlier post on this topic). I am interested in these notices for several reasons. One important … Continue reading

Posted in History, JFK ARC | Comments Off on ARRB postponements and the microfilm Oswald 201 file

Review of Kill the Messenger

Schou, Nick. Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb. Nation Books, 2006. When Gary Webb’s series “Dark Alliance” was published in the San Jose Mercury News in 1996, it set off what was easily the … Continue reading

Posted in Book reviews | Comments Off on Review of Kill the Messenger

Bill Kelly on the ARCA

[Revised May 29] The JFK Assassination Records Collection Act (ARCA) is the law that established the massive JFK Assassination Records Collection (ARC) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). As federal law, the record of its enactment is about … Continue reading

Posted in History, JFK ARC | Comments Off on Bill Kelly on the ARCA

ARRB resource page added

I have finally put together a webpage to hold all of the lists and links I have been using in my posts on the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB). In addition, I have also started to add material from other … Continue reading

Posted in History | Comments Off on ARRB resource page added

NARA 18 errata corrections

This is a minor book-keeping note on NARA 18 (the excel file that NARA released on 26 April 2018). I had previously found 20 record number errors in NARA 17 (the excel file that NARA released on 15 December 2017), … Continue reading

Posted in History, JFK ARC | Comments Off on NARA 18 errata corrections

The new NARA 18 and the last ARC WIF docs

This is my second post on the National Archive’s 4-26 release of documents from the JFK Assassination Records Collection (ARC). In this post I will look at the ultimate resolution of the ‘Withheld in full’ (WIF) documents. The summary: The … Continue reading

Posted in History, JFK ARC | Comments Off on The new NARA 18 and the last ARC WIF docs