This Act mandates the public disclosure of FBI COINTELPRO records, establishes an independent Review Board to oversee the process and manage a collection at the National Archives, and renames the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Building.
Summer Lee
Representative
PA-12
The COINTELPRO Full Disclosure Act mandates the public release of all government records related to the FBI's COINTELPRO program within six months, subject to narrow exceptions for demonstrable harm. It establishes an independent Review Board to oversee redactions and ensure eventual full disclosure within 25 years. Furthermore, the bill creates a centralized COINTELPRO Records Collection at the National Archives and renames the J. Edgar Hoover Building to the FBI Federal Building.
FBI Records Opening to the Public: COINTELPRO Full Disclosure Act Mandates Release of Secret Surveillance Files Within 6 Months.
For decades, the FBI's COINTELPRO program—a covert operation started in 1956 to surveil and disrupt domestic political groups—has been shrouded in mystery. This new bill pulls back the curtain by requiring every government office to hand over all COINTELPRO-related records to the National Archives for public release. The clock starts ticking immediately: agencies have just six months to disclose what they have, and the National Archives must make these searchable and digital for anyone with an internet connection to see. It’s a massive data dump intended to give the public a clear look at how the government monitored activists, civil rights leaders, and political organizations during the mid-20th century.
The Guardrails of Secrecy
While the goal is total transparency, the bill includes specific 'harm' clauses that allow agencies to keep certain details under wraps. If revealing a name puts a living informant in physical danger or causes 'identifiable damage' to national security that outweighs the public's right to know, that specific info can be redacted. However, the bill is strict about not hiding the whole story; agencies must provide summaries or 'substitute records' if the original is too sensitive to release in full. For a researcher or a family member of a past activist, this means you might see black bars over some names, but the meat of the report on how a group was targeted should still be readable.
Independent Oversight and the 25-Year Rule
To make sure agencies don't just use 'national security' as a blanket excuse to hide embarrassing secrets, the bill creates an independent Review Board. This five-person team, which must include at least one historian and one attorney, has the power to subpoena documents and override agency secrets. They are the 'referees' who decide if a redaction is fair or just a cover-up. Even if the Board allows some info to stay secret for now, the bill sets a hard 'expiration date' on secrecy: everything must be fully disclosed within 25 years of the law passing, unless the President or high-ranking officials personally step in to block it.
Real-World Closures and a New Name
This bill hits home for the families of those who were targeted by these programs. It requires the government to try and notify victims or their next of kin at least seven days before their specific records go public, giving them a heads-up on potentially sensitive personal history. In a symbolic move that signals a shift in tone, the bill also strips J. Edgar Hoover’s name from the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., officially redesignating it simply as the 'Federal Bureau of Investigation Federal Building.' For the average citizen, this is less about daily costs and more about a long-term investment in government accountability and getting the full story of American civil rights history on the record.