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CIA Releases President's Daily Briefs in Commemoration of 9/11

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Why This Matters

The CIA has declassified and published 71 President's Daily Brief products tied to 9/11, its largest such release on the subject and more than 100 pages of previously secret analysis now publicly available. For researchers, journalists, and archivists, it adds a significant new primary-source dataset on how intelligence analysts assessed al-Qa'ida threats before the attacks. It also signals a continued push toward government declassification as a public-facing transparency exercise.

Key Takeaways
Worth a Look

The 9/11 Commission Report (paperback) — For readers digging into the CIA's newly declassified President's Daily Briefs, the official 9/11 Commission Report is the essential companion volume. It lays out the investigative findings on intelligence warnings and al-Qa'ida plotting, giving context to the primary documents now in the public record.

See The 9/11 Commission Report (paperback) on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.

For Immediate Release: September 11, 2026

CIA Releases President's Daily Briefs in Commemoration of the

25th Anniversary of 9/11

Agency makes public more than 70 intelligence products in historic release

Today, Director John Ratcliffe declassified 71 President's Daily Brief (PDB) products in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, and consistent with President Donald Trump's historic transparency initiative.

This collection represents the Agency's single largest release of declassified CIA PDB products related to 9/11, providing unprecedented transparency on America's most sensitive intelligence publication from the years before and the day after one of the darkest moments in our history. The products trace the story of CIA analysts' evolving understanding of al-Qa'ida and efforts to highlight and warn of Usama Bin Ladin's attack plotting despite sparse, vague, and imperfect information.

Under President Trump's leadership, CIA conducted the most thorough declassification effort—unprecedented in size and transparency—since the 9/11 Commission's in 2004, resulting in more than 100 pages of CIA analysis that are publicly available for the first time.

"In an act of exceptional transparency, we honor the memory of those we lost on that tragic Tuesday by releasing 71 declassified products—the single largest release of CIA analysis related to 9/11 ever," said Director Ratcliffe. "25 years ago, the 9/11 attacks struck a blow to our Nation, but they did not break us. Generations of CIA officers have since dedicated their careers to securing justice for our fallen Americans and ensuring al-Qa'ida would never again harm our country. In the years that followed, numerous CIA officers made the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror. We honor their memory and service through our commitment to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat those who wish to cause us harm."

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