What does "in the public" or "on the public record" mean?

I'm reading a book talking about the CIA and its covert interventions since the overthrow of Iran's democratically elected prime minister, Mossagdeh, in 1953. The author says this intervention and others are the only ones in the public record. So, does the public record mean books, magazines, and other media that the public can have access to? If this is the public record, why do some people always defend arguments and ideas by saying "it's in the public record" ? I could write some bogus book and have it published and just because it's available doesn't really lend credible support to an argument. Right?