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I'm not sure what the legitimate national security concern would be for "we accidentally shot down an airliner 26 years ago".

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IANAL, far from it, but normally the other party gets emails and other communications.

How does that work when everything is classified?

> How does that work when everything is classified?

Well, they're - vaguely - claiming to have found a smoking gun in FOIL requests.

"We have to protect all the people who were involved in the accident and coverup, some of whom may now hold important positions of power." I mean, they are still using "national security" as an excuse not to declassify JFK files nearly 60 years after the fact.

It's entirely likely some of the remaining JFK files - a big batch got released under Trump, and another under Biden - are victims of over-classification. It's a systemic problem in the government.

It's also fairly likely some of the remaining classified docs include "we asked our mole at the Russian embassy to check into it discreetly" and "spy satellites checked to see if Russia was quietly mobilizing in advance" sort of scenarios likely to remain indefinitely secret.

It's also possible that some of the JFK files might implicate an influential American ally, with whom JFK had a dispute concerning their nuclear weapons program.

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