In June 2026, the Public Interest Declassification Board wrote to President Trump to reinforce our long-standing recommendation for the declassification and release of historically significant records relating to the September 11 attacks. Today, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, after nearly two decades of sustained advocacy by the Board, these records have been declassified and made available to the public for the first time.
- President’s Daily Brief Intelligence Summary – The President’s Daily Brief (PDB) is a daily intelligence product containing high-level, all-source information and analysis on national security issues produced for the President and key cabinet members and advisers. Today’s release is of a 7,000-word summary compiled by the 9/11 Commission after reviewing all Presidential Daily Briefings that mentioned Al-Qaida, Osama Bin Laden, Afghanistan, or other closely related topics in the 3 years preceding 9/11/2001. Also released today, by the CIA, are the 9/11 relevant segments of the intelligence briefings that informed the creation of the PDB summary.
- Memoranda For the Record – The Memoranda For the Record are 9/11 Commission conducted interviews with President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Samuel Berger, National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counterterrorism Richard Clarke, CIA Director George Tenet, and Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Bin Laden unit Michael Scheuer. A redacted version of an interview conducted by the 9/11 Commission with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney was released in 2022. Today’s release includes interviews with Condoleezza Rice, Samuel Berger, Richard Clarke, Michael Scheuer, and George Tenet.
Throughout 2026, the Board made the release of these records a priority, culminating with the Board’s June letter to the President recommending action to prioritize the declassification and public release of the records. Following the Board’s recommendation, the National Security Council directed the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) to review these records, with the release of the PDB Summary coming as a direct result of the Board’s 2022 appeal to the ISCAP for the declassification review of these records.
We commend the sustained attention that President Trump and his administration have given to the release of historically significant national security records, as well as to the staff of the National Security Council and the individual agencies who conducted the line-by-line declassification review. Today’s release represents meaningful progress towards transparency, but the Board recognizes that important questions about the events of 9/11 remain and that additional records of public interest still warrant review. The Board will continue to advocate for their responsible declassification and for the fullest public accounting possible, consistent with the stated intent of the 9/11 Commission.
As the nation recognizes the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, the Board honors the memory of the nearly 3,000 people who were murdered by Al-Qaida terrorists, those who survived the attacks, and the families whose lives were forever changed. No release of government records can answer their every question or lessen the profound loss that they carry. The Board undertakes its work with the victims in mind and with respect for those who have spent decades seeking answers, accountability, and a fuller understanding of the events leading up to the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001.