Can We Finally See Those Records? An Update on the Automatic/Systematic Declassification Review Program

Executive Order (E.O.) 12958, signed by President William Clinton in April 1995, established an unprecedented declassification procedure designed to release quickly massive numbers of executive branch records dating back to World War II. The program encountered numerous problems, however, and subsequent executive orders pushed back deadlines and created new grounds to exempt records from its operation. Relatively few high-level records have been released and made available to the public. However, modifications to the program made by E.O. 13526 in 2009 and changes proposed by the Public Interest Declassification Board in 2012 will make important progress in reversing this situation.