However, we have an important area of agreement regarding the importance of the government, particularly the CIA, to release all relevant assassination files.

As early as 2003, Jeff and I were two of the “published authors of divergent views on the assassination” who signed an open letter supporting a lawsuit filed against the CIA.

More recently, on August 20, 2021, we again were two of the signatories on a letter to President Biden, urging him to “issue an Executive Memorandum or other directive to ensure that the remaining assassination records are released except for those that strictly comply with the criteria for postponement under the ‘clear and convincing’ test set forth in the JFK Act.”

Since the 1993 publication of Case Closed, I have publicly and repeatedly criticized the failure of the CIA and other government agencies to allow all JFK files at the National Archives to be released in full to the public.

I told the NY Times in 2009 — “C.I.A. Is Still Cagey About Oswald Mystery” — that the CIA’s continuing withholding of documents was “a perfect example of why nobody trusts the agency. It feeds the conspiracy theorists who say, ‘You’re hiding something.’”

It is possible that even after the last document is ultimately released, Jeff Morley and I might still disagree about what happened in the murder of the president. Then, however, we will be able to discuss it without anyone deflecting the debate by contending there might be a sealed file somewhere that after 60 years will provide the missing credible evidence of conspiracy.