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Withdrawal of previously declassified U.S. federal records

The withdrawal of previously declassified U.S. federal records is a process in which agencies can remove records from public access that they believe were incorrectly declassified and made available to the public at the National Archives and Records Administration. The process is often referred to as "reclassification, " but because the records were never properly declassified and remained classified even when made publicly available, they are not re-classified.

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History

In 1995, Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12958 directing agencies to declassify all records that were 25 years or older by the end of 1999, with certain exemptions for information that remained sensitive. Security concerns over restricted data were heightened in 1999 by the Wen Ho Lee case, in which a Taiwanese American nuclear weapons engineer was accused of selling secrets to the People’s Republic of China. Additionally, the State Department was accused by the Energy Department of improperly releasing information it was not authorized to declassify.12 In 1999, declassification efforts slowed considerably with the passage of the Kyl-Lott Amendment to the 1999 Defense Authorization Act which requires that all declassified records be reviewed for restricted data and formerly restricted data. The Kyl-Lott Amendment led to the removal of previously declassified records from public access for re-review of restricted data.3

During the George W. Bush administration, the signing of Executive Order 13292 in 2003 eased the process of withdrawals and further delayed automatic declassification review. The process was further codified in 2009 by the signing of Executive Order 13526 and 32 C.F.R. § 2001.13.4

The process of removing previously declassified records was itself covert until it was revealed by the National Security Archive in February 2006.5 Following outcry by journalists, historians, and the public, an internal audit by the National Archive’s Information Security Oversight Office indicated that more than one-third of the records withdrawn since 1999 did not contain sensitive information.678 In response, the National Archives has made annual reports of records withdrawn from public access.9

Withdrawals of previously-declassified records since 2006

Fiscal YearAgencyNARA facilityDate withdrawnNumber of records withdrawnNumber of textual pages withdrawn
200610NSC/NSA/StateLBJ Library and MuseumMay 200612
2006CIALBJ Library and MuseumMay 200612
2006CIAJimmy Carter Library and MuseumSep 200622
200711Air ForceCollege ParkDec 200611
2007Air ForceCollege ParkJan 200711
2007DOECollege ParkFeb 200717
200812None withdrawn
200913NavyNixon Presidential Library at College ParkFeb 17 20091136
2009NavyCollege ParkJan 15 2009122
2009NavyCollege ParkJan 15 2009114
201014None withdrawn
201115None withdrawn
201216None withdrawn
201317None withdrawn
201418CIACollege ParkFeb 25 201420 (one in full; 19 redacted)81 (65 unique; 16 duplicate)
201519DOE20College ParkJun 30 2015227
2015DOE21College ParkJun 30 2015121
2015DOE22College ParkJun 30 20153136
2015DOE23College ParkJun 30 20151226
201624DOECollege ParkOct 1 201518968
201725None withdrawn
201826None withdrawn
201927None withdrawn
202028None withdrawn
202129None withdrawn
202230None withdrawn
202331None withdrawn
202432None withdrawn
202533None withdrawn

See also

Notes

References

  1. Aid, Matthew M. (2006). "The Secret Reclassification Program". Organization of American Historians Newsletter. 34 (May). Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100716004654/http://www.oah.org/pubs/nl/2006may/aid.html ↩

  2. Johnston, David (August 14, 2001). "Justice Dept. Cites Problems In 2 Inquiries At Los Alamos". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 11, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/us/justice-dept-cites-problems-in-2-inquiries-at-los-alamos.html?smid=url-share ↩

  3. David, James (November 18, 2013). "Can We Finally See Those Records? An Update on the Automatic/Systematic Declassification Review Program". The American Archivist. 76 (2): 415–437. doi:10.17723/aarc.76.2.kr5mr37k15m12110. ISSN 0360-9081. https://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article/76/2/415/24274/Can-We-Finally-See-Those-Records-An-Update-on-the ↩

  4. 32 CFR § 2001. 13—Classification prohibitions and limitations. Code of Federal Regulations in the Federal Register. Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-32/subtitle-B/chapter-XX/part-2001/subpart-B/section-2001.13 ↩

  5. Aid, Matthew M. (ed.). "Declassification in Reverse: The U.S. Intelligence Community's Secret Historical Document Reclassification Program". The National Security Archive. George Washington University. Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB179/index.htm ↩

  6. Audit Report: Withdrawal of Records from Public Access at the National Archive and Records Administration for Classified Purposes (PDF) (Report). Information Security Oversight Office. April 26, 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 28, 2006. https://www.archives.gov/files/isoo/reports/2006-audit-report.pdf ↩

  7. Shane, Scott (February 21, 2006). "U. S. Reclassifies Many Documents in Secret Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 11, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/politics/us-reclassifies-many-documents-in-secret-review.html ↩

  8. Scott Shane (April 27, 2006). "National Archives Says Records Were Wrongly Classified". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/washington/27archives.html?ref=nationalarchivesandrecordsadministration ↩

  9. "Quarterly Report of Withdrawals of Previously Declassified Records". National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/about/plans-reports/withdrawn ↩

  10. "FY 2006 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2006withdrawals.pdf ↩

  11. "FY 2007 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2007withdrawals.pdf ↩

  12. "FY 2008 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2008withdrawals.pdf ↩

  13. "FY 2009 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2009withdrawals.pdf ↩

  14. "FY 2010 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2010withdrawals.pdf ↩

  15. "FY 2011 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2011withdrawals.pdf ↩

  16. "FY 2012 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2012withdrawals.pdf ↩

  17. "FY 2013 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2013withdrawals.pdf ↩

  18. "FY 2014 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2014withdrawals.pdf ↩

  19. "FY 2015 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2015withdrawals.pdf ↩

  20. Withdrawn per Kyl and Lott Amendments to the 1999 and 2000 Defense Authorization Acts and the Atomic Energy Act, as amended. ↩

  21. Withdrawn per Kyl and Lott Amendments to the 1999 and 2000 Defense Authorization Acts and the Atomic Energy Act, as amended. ↩

  22. Withdrawn per Kyl and Lott Amendments to the 1999 and 2000 Defense Authorization Acts and the Atomic Energy Act, as amended. ↩

  23. Withdrawn per Kyl and Lott Amendments to the 1999 and 2000 Defense Authorization Acts and the Atomic Energy Act, as amended. ↩

  24. "FY 2016 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2016withdrawals.pdf ↩

  25. "FY 2017 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/about/plans-reports/withdrawn/2017withdrawals.pdf ↩

  26. "FY 2018 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/2018withdrawals.pdf ↩

  27. "FY 2019 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/withdrawals-report-fy-2019.pdf ↩

  28. "FY 2020 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/files/withdrawals-report-fy-2020.pdf ↩

  29. "FY 2021 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022. https://www.archives.gov/files/fy-2021-withdrawals-report.pdf ↩

  30. "FY 2022 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024. https://www.archives.gov/files/fy-2022-withdrawals-report.pdf ↩

  31. "FY 2023 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 8, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024. https://www.archives.gov/files/withdrawals-report-fy-2023.pdf ↩

  32. "FY 2024 Report of Withdrawals" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 23, 2025. Retrieved April 1, 2025. https://www.archives.gov/files/withdrawals-report-fy-2024.pdf ↩

  33. "FY 2025 Report of Records Withdrawn" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 10, 2025. https://www.archives.gov/files/withdrawals-report-fy-2025.pdf ↩