Topics: Donald Trump, US News, News, John F. Kennedy
Newly released documents have revealed more than just information on JFK's assassination.
On Tuesday (March 18), the Trump administration unsealed over thousands of pages relating to JFK's 1963 murder.
The files in question were published on the National Archives' website in two parts: initially 1,123 records, comprising a total of 32,000 pages were shared, with another 1,059 records, made up of 31,400 additional pages, following suit later the same day.
Advert
Following their release, the White House has admitted that it only started combing through the information after they were made public, The New York Times reports.
This comes after it was reported that people's personal information, including security numbers, were published in the files.
Some of the information regards people who are still alive.
Typically such details are redacted from publicly released files like those on JFK's assassination, but this hasn't been the case.
READ MORE:
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE JFK ASSASSINATION
BOMBSHELLS IN DECLASSIFIED JFK FILES RELEASED BY TRUMP
William A. Harnage, a former government contractor, is one person to have been affected.
His details were on files dating back to 1977. The 71-year-old says that it's 'almost criminal' that his information has been publicly shared.
But it could actually be criminal as the revealing of such information may have violated US privacy laws, according to Mark S. Zaid, a national security lawyer who spoke to NYT.
Zaid in unsure if those affected will be able to sue for damages, though.
"The bottom line is that Social Security numbers are among the most prized data that the US government seeks to protect," he said.
"It is an egregious breach."
Elsewhere, former Trump campaign lawyer Joseph diGenova has branded the whole situation as 'sloppy' after being personally affected.
"It’s absolutely outrageous. It’s sloppy, unprofessional," he told The Washington Post.
"It not only means identity theft, but I’ve had threats against me. In the past, I’ve had to report real threats against me to the FBI. There are dangerous nuts out there."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has since responded to the whole debacle and assured people that Social Security Administration have 'put together an action plan'.
Leavitt said: "President Trump delivered on his promise of maximum transparency by fully releasing the files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
"At the request of the White House, the National Archives and the Social Security Administration immediately put together an action plan to pro-actively help individuals whose personal information was released in the files."
