THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

A final release of declassified documents that shed light on human rights abuses, terrorism, and other acts of political violence in Chile during and prior to the Pinochet era, requested by the National Security Council, was scheduled to take place on September 14. The National Security Advisor has decided to delay that release temporarily in order to complete a further review of certain documents related to U.S. covert action in Chile.

The purpose of the delay is to ensure that at the end of this process, we can be confident that we have made the fullest possible disclosure of documents, consistent with our obligation to protect legitimate national security concerns, as the President directed.

We expect the delay to last no more than a few weeks. We will announce the newly rescheduled release date as soon as possible.

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