David E. Sanger

and how they operated outside the guardrails put on by a democratic government, how they exceeded their charter. And that's what's important about this today. And that's kind of why these documents are coming out. We have a president who has consistently questioned the role of intelligence agencies in society. He's constantly attacking forces arrayed against him.

and how they operated outside the guardrails put on by a democratic government, how they exceeded their charter. And that's what's important about this today. And that's kind of why these documents are coming out. We have a president who has consistently questioned the role of intelligence agencies in society. He's constantly attacking forces arrayed against him.

And by putting this out, by exposing this old history about the bad acts of the CIA, one could reasonably argue that he's trying to reinforce the idea that there is a threat from something he would call the deep state. Mm-hmm.

And by putting this out, by exposing this old history about the bad acts of the CIA, one could reasonably argue that he's trying to reinforce the idea that there is a threat from something he would call the deep state. Mm-hmm.

So it starts at the time of the assassination itself. Americans have a lot of questions. How could one solitary gunman do this? How could one bullet hit the president and the governor of Texas? You know, there were breadcrumbs and hints. People knew about the tensions between Kennedy and the CIA over the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Right, which the CIA had overseen and botched. Right.

So it starts at the time of the assassination itself. Americans have a lot of questions. How could one solitary gunman do this? How could one bullet hit the president and the governor of Texas? You know, there were breadcrumbs and hints. People knew about the tensions between Kennedy and the CIA over the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Right, which the CIA had overseen and botched. Right.

So the public wants answers. And the clamor leads to a government commission, the Warren Commission, which investigates the killing of John Kennedy and comes to a conclusion that... few Americans accept, which is that Oswald acted alone.

So the public wants answers. And the clamor leads to a government commission, the Warren Commission, which investigates the killing of John Kennedy and comes to a conclusion that... few Americans accept, which is that Oswald acted alone.

And so the questions persist, and there are more and more commissions, congressional investigations, each of which generates a lot of documents, some about the Kennedy assassination, some about other programs. But in the course of these investigations, we learn about all kinds of other CIA abuses. Like what? Project Mockingbird, when they were tapping the phones of journalists.

And so the questions persist, and there are more and more commissions, congressional investigations, each of which generates a lot of documents, some about the Kennedy assassination, some about other programs. But in the course of these investigations, we learn about all kinds of other CIA abuses. Like what? Project Mockingbird, when they were tapping the phones of journalists.

MKUltra, where they were putting LSD into the drinks of unsuspecting Americans to find out whether they could practice mind control on the Soviets. These were limited programs, but they were wrong. They were outside the CIA's mandate and they became part of the public consciousness of a agency that was a little out of control, that was spying on Americans and not operating within limits.

MKUltra, where they were putting LSD into the drinks of unsuspecting Americans to find out whether they could practice mind control on the Soviets. These were limited programs, but they were wrong. They were outside the CIA's mandate and they became part of the public consciousness of a agency that was a little out of control, that was spying on Americans and not operating within limits.

So in the public imagination, all of this kind of comes together, whether it's the abuse of a CIA mind control experiment or a wiretap of a reporter in Washington. It all comes merged with the original questions about was the CIA involved in Kennedy's assassination? Right. But more and more information is accumulated, some of which is released, and much of which is kept locked in the CIA's vault.

So in the public imagination, all of this kind of comes together, whether it's the abuse of a CIA mind control experiment or a wiretap of a reporter in Washington. It all comes merged with the original questions about was the CIA involved in Kennedy's assassination? Right. But more and more information is accumulated, some of which is released, and much of which is kept locked in the CIA's vault.

And they're all kept locked away until Oliver Stone makes his movie JFK, the one I saw in college.

And they're all kept locked away until Oliver Stone makes his movie JFK, the one I saw in college.

And the movie ends with a message about how the Kennedy assassination records are locked away for decades. Right. And it serves almost like a call to action. So people start calling Congress. And Congress passes a law that mandates the whole trove of documents about the Kennedy assassination, but also about broader CIA activities, gets released.

And the movie ends with a message about how the Kennedy assassination records are locked away for decades. Right. And it serves almost like a call to action. So people start calling Congress. And Congress passes a law that mandates the whole trove of documents about the Kennedy assassination, but also about broader CIA activities, gets released.

And it lays out a timetable to push the documents out to the public. And the timetable for the law is 25 years. And so across various presidential administrations, documents are being released. Right. And the deadline to declassify and release these documents from all these government inquiries basically ends up in the first Trump administration.

And it lays out a timetable to push the documents out to the public. And the timetable for the law is 25 years. And so across various presidential administrations, documents are being released. Right. And the deadline to declassify and release these documents from all these government inquiries basically ends up in the first Trump administration.