Declassified Files Reveal Pre-9/11 Warnings

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were repeatedly warned about the intentions of Usama bin Laden and his network to hijack commercial jets for attacks against the United States. Newly released files by the Trump administration confirm these details.

These documents include presidential daily briefs (PDBs) and CIA intelligence memorandums. They highlight that operatives managed to evade security checks during a trial run at an unspecified New York airport, three years prior to the al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center.

The plotters intended to use hijackings as leverage to secure the release of imprisoned extremists, notably Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and Ramzi Yousef.

Former President Bill Clinton joined former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City on Sept. 11, 2026. The declassified files uncovered span warnings across different presidential administrations.

A presidential daily briefing from Dec. 4, 1998, reported suspicions that some bin Ladin network members had hijack training. However, no group linked to bin Ladin’s al-Qa’ida had executed an aircraft hijacking at that time.

Earlier, on Sept. 10, 1998, a PDB memorandum cautioned on bin Laden’s preferred attack target being U.S. soil in Washington, D.C. It suggested that the group behind the East Africa embassy bombings might fly a plane full of explosives into an American city.

Throughout 1998, U.S. intelligence monitored bin Laden’s movements, tracking his network across New York, California, Texas, Michigan, and Florida, according to the files.

Warnings were conveyed across two presidential administrations. An Aug. 6, 2001, PDB delivered to Bush detailed FBI findings of suspicious activities within the U.S. that hinted at hijacking preparations or other types of attacks. It also mentioned recent federal building surveillance in New York.

This document further states:Al-Qa’ida members — some being US citizens — have resided or traveled within the US for years, and the group maintains a support structure that could facilitate attacks.

Weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, a PDB informed Bush that the FBI was engaged in approximately 70 field investigations across the U.S., suspected to be related to bin Laden.

These disclosures by the Trump administration aim to provide clarity on the pre-9/11 intelligence understanding.Today I authorized the release of 71 Presidential Daily Briefs to honor the lives of those killed on 9/11, along with CIA officers who subsequently gave their lives to the fight, stated CIA Director John Ratcliffe on X.

Trump’s administration has also made public classified files concerning the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.