WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acted Thursday to block the release of hundreds of records on the John F. Kennedy assassination, bending to CIA and FBI appeals to keep those secrets.

“I have no choice,” Trump said in a memo, according to White House officials. He was placing those files under a six-month review while he let 2,800 other records come out Thursday evening, racing against a deadline to honor a law mandating their release. Officials say Trump will impress upon federal agencies that JFK files should stay secret after the six-month review “only in the rarest cases.”

White House officials said the FBI and CIA made the most requests within the government to withhold some information. —Associated Press