JFK Records Lawsuit

Latest Filings in MFF v. Biden et al

• November 7, 2024: Stipulation and Order to Amend Briefing Schedule and Hearing Date as Modified by the Court. MFF has asked for a brief delay in the hearings schedule in order to focus on oral arguments in our appeal of certain issues of the case, scheduled for November 13.

• October 18, 2024: Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. The DOJ filed this Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, asking the judge to rule without further deliberations on certain issues. Summary judgment was requested on the matter of release of remaining withheld so-called "legislative records" (HSCA, Church Committee), as well as on MFF's seeking action regarding destroyed records. The motion was accompanied by a declaration of Rebecca Calcagno, Director of the Special Access and FOIA Program at NARA, and a declaration of Judith Barnes, who in the 1990s had served as Chief of the Accession and Disposal Branch at NARA. An attached Exhibit A consists of documents related to the 1995 destruction of Secret Service records.

• August 29, 2024: Joint Case Management Statement. MFF and the DOJ filed this Joint Case Management Statement laying out the state of the case and anticipated future legal filings.

• August 24, 2024: Appelants' Reply Brief. The MFF filed this reply to the DOJ's July 24 brief to the appeals court. The MFF's reply rebuts the claims of the DOJ's brief, re-iterates defendant NARA's mandatory duties, and asserts that DOJ failed to address key arguments.

• July 24, 2024: Brief for Appellees. This is the Dept. of Justice's reply to the MFF's opening brief to the appeals court of May 28, 2024. The DOJ argued that MFF's appeal was unlikely to succeed on the merits, exhibits no irreparable harm, and even that the public interest weighs against the requested injunction on the Transparency Plans.

• May 28, 2024: Appellant's Opening Brief. MFF filed its opening brief to the 9th Circuit, seeking to overturn certain rulings of district court judge. This filing was accompanied by supporting Appellants' Excerpts of Record.

• March 17, 2024: Notice of Interlocutory Appeal to Orders Denying Injunctive Relief. MFF filed an appeal of the January 18 judgement. The ninth circuit appeals court the following day issued a time schedule which calls for opening briefs on April 15.

• January 18, 2024: Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Dismiss and Denying Motions for Injunctive Relief. In this order, Judge Seeborg denied MFF's recent motions for injunctive relief. Remaining in the litigation are three issues: MFF's complaint regarding the myriad of problems with NARA's tracking of JFK files, whether President Biden even had authority to postpone release of Congressional records of the Church Committee and HSCA, and the failure to complete investigations regarding destroyed and removed records.

• December 14, 2023: Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Declaratory Relief, or Mandamus to Order NARA to Collect All Assassination Records and to Halt Advising Researchers to File FOIA Actions Rather than JFK Act Requests. MFF's motion regarding NARA's duty to collect remaining assassination records and to advise researchers to use JFK Act requests rather than FOIA. Defendant filed an opposition brief. Plaintiffs filed a reply brief and a supplemental declaration of counsel.

• December 14, 2023: Plaintiffs' Motion for Release of the Legislative Branch Records. MFF's motion for immediate release of legislative records. Defendant NARA filed an opposition brief. Plaintiffs filed a reply brief.

• October 26, 2023: Plaintiffs’ Notice of Motion and Motion for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Relief, or Mandamus. MFF's motion for relief in this case, noting the urgency given elderly and dying witnesses: "Last month’s headlines about Secret Service agent Paul Landis show why this motion is necessary." The memo is accompanied by two memoranda: Declaration of Lawrence Schnapf, and an accompanying exhibit comprised of an internal National Archives memo where in 2017 NARA challenged FBI's arguments for withholding. This motion is to order a re-review of the Transparency Plans, with added scrutiny of the continued postponement of the names cited in these documents to see if there is an "identifiable basis" to withhold this information. Defendant NARA filed an opposition brief. Plaintiffs filed a reply brief.

• October 26, 2023: Defendants' Notice of Motion to Dismiss Third Amended Complaint. The Justice Department's motion to dismiss the third amended complaint, accompanied by a one-page proposed order for the judge. The Plaintiffs filed a memo in opposition to Defendants' motion to dismiss, accompanied by the tables of contents and authorities and the declaration of William M. Simpich.

• September 11, 2023: Third Amended Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Relief, and Mandamus. MFF's'amended complaint, addressing the new "transparency plans" and clarifying other issues and arguments in the case.

• August 27, 2023: Amended Motion for Leave to File Third Amended Complaint. MFF's motion to amend the Complaint, supported by an Amended Memorandum of Points and Authorities and an Amended Declaration of William M. Simpich & Proposed Third Amended Complaint.

• July 14, 2023: Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Dismiss and Denying Preliminary Injunction. Judge Seeborg's ruling on the DOJ's motion to dismiss and the MFF's request for a preliminary injunction.

• July 6, 2023: Addendum to Reply Brief and Request for Judicial Notice in Response to Defendants' of June 30, 2023 Presidential Memorandum. The MFF's response to the Presidential order delivered to the court.

• June 30, 2023: Defendants' Notice of June 30, 2023 Presidential Memorandum. The DOJ files a notice regarding President Biden's June 30 memorandum, which makes note of the new so-called "Transparency Plans."

• June 29, 2023: Plaintiffs' Reply Brief in Support of Motion for Injunctive Relief, et al. The MFF files this brief in support of the June 8 motion for injunctive and declaratory relief, including supporting declarations from Lawrence Schnapf and William Kelly.

• June 22, 2023: Defendants' Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Relief, or Mandamus. The DOJ files a memo in opposition to MFF's motion for injunctive relief.

• June 8, 2023: Plaintiffs' Motion for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. The MFF files a motion for injunctive and declaratory relief, asking for a "preliminary injunction to halt implementation of the Transparency Plans", and "declaratory relief that NARA is the "successor in function" to the ARRB; that it has a mandatory duty to seek additional Assassination Records; that it enforce the MOU; and advise researchers to invoke the JFK Act rather than FOIA."

• June 5, 2023: Defendants' Reply to Motion to Dismiss. The DOJ files this reply in support of the motion to dismiss the case.

• May 22, 2023: Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motion to Dismiss. The MFF files this brief in opposition to the DOJ's motion to dismiss. This includes declarations from Daniel Alcorn, Rex Bradford, Lawrence Schnapf, and William Simpich, plus a second declaration from William Simpich.

• May 1, 2023: Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. The Department of Justice files a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint.

• April 10, 2023: Second Amended Complaint. The Mary Ferrell Foundation files an amended complaint, including additional information including a section on the Biden "Transparency Plans."

• March 21, 2023: DOJ Reply Brief. The Dept. of Justice files its defendants' reply in support of motion to dismiss amended complaint.

• March 9, 2023: Opposition to Motion to dismiss. The Mary Ferrell Foundation files its opposition to the motion to dismiss.

• February 6, 2023: Motion to dismiss. The Dept. of Justice files a "motion to dismiss".

• October 19, 2022: Lawsuit filed. The Mary Ferrell Foundation files suit in US District Court over failures to implement the 1992 JFK Records Act.

For More Information

• Read the complaint in MFF v Biden et al
• Key issues in the lawsuit
• What is the Mary Ferrell Foundation?
• Who is the Foundation's attorney Bill Simpich?
• Who is the Foundation's attorney Lawrence Schnapf?
• Who was Mary Ferrell?
• Learn more about the 2017-2021 releases
• Read the 1992 JFK Records Act
• Basics of the JFK assassination

See also Jeff Morley's JFK Facts substack for related information, news, and insights.

Please direct any inquiries to info@maryferrell.org.

News Stories About the Lawsuit

• July 23, 2023. Jefferson Morley on the Release of New Kennedy Assassination Records, video from CSPAN's Washington Journal program.
• July 21, 2023. The CIA Opposes JFK Record Releases Because Each One Is More Damning Than the Last by Branko Marcetic, Jacobin.
• July 16, 2023. Biden’s 'Final' Order on Kennedy Files Leaves Some Still Wanting More, by Peter Baker, New Tork Times.
• July 5, 2023. The Divine Right of Joe Biden, by Chad Nagle, The American Conservative.
• Mar 28, 2023. Challenging Executive-Branch Conceit in the Murder of a President, by Chad Nagle, The American Conservative.
• Dec 8, 2022. New Documents Shed Light on CIA's Connection to Lee Harvey Oswald, by Nick Reynolds, Newsweek.
• Dec 6, 2022. JFK Assassination Investigator Has Jarring New Claim About Oswald's CIA Involvement, by Will Sommer, Daily Beast.
• Dec 6, 2022. More than 70% of voters in poll want Biden to release secret JFK assassination records, by Mac Caputo, NBC News.
• Dec 6, 2022. Another batch of JFK assassination papers may see the light of day. A well-known Minnesotan has already given them the eye, by Tim Nelson, Minnesota Public Radio.
• Nov 22, 2022. 16K JFK assassination records still held by feds; lawsuit seeks their release, ABC-7 Eyewitness News.
• Oct 20, 2022. Congressman Cohen Leads Letter Seeking Release of Remaining Kennedy Assassination Records.
• Oct 20, 2022. Biden officials sued over delayed release of JFK assassination records, by Sam Levine, The Guardian.
• Oct 19, 2022. 'What are they hiding?': Group sues Biden and National Archives over JFK assassination records, by Marc Caputo, NBC News.
• Oct 19, 2022. Biden and National Archives sued over JFK assassination records, by Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News.
• Oct 19, 2022. Is Biden blocking the JFK assassination files over hidden bombshells?, by Andrew Feinberg, the Independent.
• Oct 19, 2022. Biden, National Archives sued over unreleased JFK assassination records, by Herb Scribner, Axios.
• Oct 19, 2022. CBS Evening News: Biden Sued Over JFK Assassination Records.