What happens when a job that requires 10 people and 100 days is done in 1 day? It becomes messy, and the outcome is not what is expected.
That’s exactly what happened with the release of thousands of files related to the JFK assassination.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to release all the records and documents related to the JFK assassination in 45 days. After that, several federal workers were fired by DOGE.
There were several issues with this order. Such as the information pertinent to the assassination was already in the public domain. The redacted data was not released due to privacy and security reasons. If all the redacted data were to be released, it would require a great deal of manpower to sift through the pages and avoid private information such as social security numbers of officials from getting leaked.
Since there are very few federal workers on this job, mistakes happen. The biggest among these was the release of the social security numbers of several people. Among these is a former attorney for President Donald Trump.
Finding important information was a laborious task due to the volume of material. The Washington Post said on Wednesday that the document leak doxxed many people. Many of these were former congressional workers.
Personal information, Social Security numbers exposed in JFK files https://t.co/muYawlfkYA pic.twitter.com/Myt8paBk4C
— DC Cajun (@DCCajun) March 20, 2025
Among those whose social security numbers and other details were made public is Joseph DiGenova. He is a longstanding Trump supporter who has appeared on cable news and was formerly a lawyer for the president’s campaign.
President Donald Trump ordered the National Archives to post over 60,000 pages of previously secret papers on its website on Tuesday.
This week’s file leak about the killing of former President John F. Kennedy exposed a lot of private information. It included the Social Security numbers and other private information of over 200 individuals.
In response to these leaks, Mr. DiGenova told The Post that they were completely ridiculous, careless, and unprofessional. He added that, in addition to identity theft, he is now also receiving threats.
“It’s absolutely outrageous. It’s sloppy, unprofessional,” said former Trump campaign lawyer Joseph diGenova, 80, whose private information was included in the release.https://t.co/LkXwqzSq4k
— Ryan (@ZvZ) March 20, 2025
DiGenova clarified that since he studied US intelligence in the 1970s. It “makes sense” that his private information would be included in the documents. However, the steps must have been taken to keep that information redacted.
The birthplaces, dates of birth, and Social Security Numbers of over 100 employees of the Senate Church Committee were released. This committee was founded in 1975 to investigate abuses by the US government and intelligence services.
Many of the people whose Social Security Numbers were leaked went on to hold important positions in Washington. The list includes a former US ambassador, a former assistant secretary of state, intelligence researchers, State Department employees, and well-known attorneys.
President Trump has fired Colleen Shogan, the Archivist of the United States.
Shogan led the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
NARA is the agency that referred President Trump to the Justice Department after they found classified documents in boxes he… pic.twitter.com/rYfVR8Mr5m
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 8, 2025
The National Archives did not answer requests for comment, and neither Archivist Trump nor the Department of Justice responded. The Archivist was fired by DOGE last month.