Archives Study: One-Third of Document Reclassifications Inappropriate

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A National Archives audit of documents secretly reclassified by the CIA and two other agencies since 1995 showed the action was unjustified in more one third of the cases. The Archives sampled over 1,300 of 25,000 documents that were declassified and then later pulled from the shelves and resealed. It found that the reclassification was inappropriate in 24 percent of the cases and questionable in another 12 percent. Archivist Allen Weinstein said the Archives is instituting policies to require a more complete and public review before any declassified documents are returned to secret status.