Which documents in the Assassination Records Review Board archives are still classified or contested?

1. What the ARRB did and what it turned over to NARA

The ARRB’s mission was to locate, review and make public "assassination records" as defined by the JFK Records Act; its final report documents extensive work identifying agency holdings, reviewing senior officials’ files, and pressing agencies to release material—then transferring its records and determinations to the National Archives for continued custody and release ^{[3] [4] [5]}. The ARRB required agencies to release assassination records "in their entirety" except where the Board sustained agency postponements, and it stressed public hearings and joint agency cooperation in declassification ^{[5] [6]}.

2. Recent executive actions and large public releases

Executive actions in recent years prompted large batches of previously withheld documents to be posted by NARA. The National Archives describes a March–April 2025 series of releases carried out “in accordance with President Donald Trump’s directive” and Executive Order 14176, and says those releases included many files previously withheld in whole or in part ^{[2] [1]}. Earlier, large releases were recorded after a 2018 directive referenced in secondary summaries ^[1].

3. What remains withheld — statutory and practical limits

NARA’s 2025 release notes explicitly say that some redactions remain because of statutory constraints such as grand‑jury secrecy under section 10 of the JFK Act and tax or other protected categories under section 11 ^[2]. Sources indicate redactions for grand jury matters and sealed court material persist even when agency classification politic is waived ^[2]. Available sources do not list specific ARRB-origin documents still classified in full; instead, they describe categories (grand jury, IRS/6103, court-sealed) that justify continued nondisclosure ^[2].

4. Disputed holdings and third‑party “equities” — why some files were contested

The ARRB flagged a recurrent problem of “third‑party equities” — classified information of one agency appearing in documents of another — and recommended joint declassification sessions or uniform substitute language to open material otherwise delayed by interagency disputes ^[7]. The ARRB’s final recommendations and reports show that many postponements and contested redactions were the product of these interagency referral processes rather than a single agency’s unilateral decision ^{[6] [7]}.

5. Recent revelations and outstanding threads in reporting

Journalistic and archival accounts cite newly released 2025 materials that shed light on specific intelligence figures (for example, the involvement of CIA officer George Joannides with anti‑Castro student groups that had contact with Lee Harvey Oswald) — evidence that more responsive declassification can change the public record ^[1]. At the same time, investigative voices (for example, Jefferson Morley cited in secondary reporting) say there are still documents in NARA or still-held agency files unaccounted for; available sources do not provide a comprehensive roster of those missing items ^[1].

6. How to track what’s still classified or contested

NARA’s public release pages for 2023 and 2025 list batches of documents and explain redaction rationales; researchers should consult NARA’s JFK Collection release pages and the ARRB’s final report and recommendations for the legal framework and agency positions ^{[2] [8] [9]}. The ARRB’s final report and fiscal reports document where the Board sustained postponements and the categories that produced continued withholding, which is the closest contemporaneous record of contested files available in the public record ^{[5] [10]}.

7. Limitations of current reporting and what’s not documented

Available sources do not provide a single, up‑to‑date inventory naming which ARRB-identified documents are still classified in full or actively litigated; instead, they describe releases, statutory exceptions (grand jury, tax, court seals), and systemic obstacles such as third‑party equities ^{[2] [6] [7]}. Claims that specific files remain secret or that particular agencies are withholding identified ARRB materials are not documented in the provided material; where such claims appear in secondary reporting, the underlying archival inventories are not included in these sources ^[1].

8. Bottom line for researchers and the public

The ARRB accomplished broad identification and transfer of assassination records to NARA and pressed for transparency, but statutory protections (grand jury, tax returns, sealed court material) and interagency equities have continued to produce redactions and contested files; NARA’s 2025 releases reduced the volume of withheld material but available sources do not enumerate every document still withheld in full ^{[2] [6]}. For a definitive, itemized accounting, researchers must consult NARA’s online JFK release catalogs and the ARRB final report records—those are the sources that explain why particular pages or files remain redacted or withheld ^{[2] [5]}.