Republicans Launch Task Force to Declassify Sensitive Government Records

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) speaks during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Feb. 18 announced the Republican appointments to a new task force aimed at declassifying federal secrets and increasing government transparency.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), newly appointed chairwoman of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, named task force members Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), and Brandon Gill (R-Texas) in a Feb. 18 statement.

The formation of the task force comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14176, signed on Jan. 23, calling for the declassification of records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Comer expressed confidence in the appointed members in the Feb. 18 statement, saying, “The Republicans on Rep. Luna’s task force are steadfast champions of transparency, and I am confident they will vigorously pursue and deliver the truth on critical issues.”

In the statement, Luna emphasized the task force’s commitment to swift action, saying, “Our mission is simple: to ensure these documents are released swiftly and in their entirety, giving the American people the truth they deserve.”

The task force’s creation was first announced on Feb. 11, with Comer citing a growing demand from the American public for transparency.

“For too long, the federal government has kept information of public interest classified and the American people are demanding greater transparency. This secrecy has sowed distrust in our institutions,” he stated.

Task Force’s Scope

The task force’s scope extends beyond the assassination records mentioned in Trump’s executive order, with Luna indicating that the group will also investigate “UAPs/USOs, the Epstein client list, COVID-19 origins, and the 9/11 files.”

The task force has been authorized for a six-month period, in accordance with committee rules.

On the day that the committee was formed, Comer and Luna sent 11 letters to initiate the declassification of such documents.

“We will work alongside President Trump and his cabinet members to deliver truth to the American people. From this moment forward, we will restore trust through transparency,” Luna said in the Feb. 11 statement.

According to letters sent by Comer and Luna, the committee and the task force have already requested briefings from various government agencies regarding documents in their possession on a range of topics.

The Department of Energy, the State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency were asked to provide information about documents related to the origin of COVID-19, according to the letters.

The CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Department of Defense (DOD) were also requested to brief the task force on documents concerning the assassinations of the Kennedys and King.

Additionally, the CIA, State Department, and DOD were asked about documents pertaining to unidentified anomalous phenomena, the U.S. government’s term for what have long been called UFOs. The DOD and CIA were also requested to provide information on documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Operation Neptune Spear, in which a SEAL team killed terrorist Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the task force sought information about documents regarding the investigation and prosecution of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Each letter requested a briefing by Feb. 18.

From NTD News