At a public meeting held on January 14, 2026, in the U.S. Capitol, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) called for a comprehensive declassification review of all remaining classified records related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with the goal of releasing as much information as possible to the public. In their remarks, Board … Continue reading PIDB Calls for the Review and Release of all 9/11 records at Public Meeting in U.S. Capitol
The Public Interest Declassification Board held a public meeting in the Senate Visitor Center of the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2026. The event featured remarks from Senator Wyden, Senator Slotkin, Congresswoman Luna, and Brett Eagleson (representing 9/11 families), an overview of 9/11 records that remain classified, and potential avenues to reform the national security … Continue reading VIDEO: January 14, 2026, PIDB Public Meeting at U.S. Capitol to Discuss Transparency for 9/11 Records and Wider Declassification Reform
The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) will hold its next public meeting on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Senate Visitor Center located within the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The discussion, which will include PIDB members, guest speakers, and public questions, will focus … Continue reading Setting the Agenda: The PIDB Public Meeting and Anticipated Congressional Remarks– Register Today!
The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) is pleased to share the rescheduled date for its Public Meeting. Originally planned for October 2025, the meeting was delayed by the federal government shutdown and will now be held on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be hosted by the Senate … Continue reading PIDB Announces New Date for Public Meeting; Registration Link
Past and present PIDB members convened in Washington, DC on November 19, 2025 for a panel discussion focused on modernizing classification. Hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, “Overcoming a Culture of Secrecy: Can the United States Kick its National Security Over-Classification Habit?” highlighted the PIDB’s long advocacy for reform of the national security information system. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-enSoHujQeI?si=0jyRWGf4ILZVCX32 … Continue reading PIDB Members Talk Classification Reform at the Council on Foreign Relations
The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) recently announced that it will hold its next public meeting on October 29, 2025, with an agenda focused on the substantial body of records relating to the September 11th terrorist attacks that are fast approaching their 25-year mandatory declassification deadline. For nearly two decades, the PIDB has remained steadfast … Continue reading Backlogs, Bottlenecks, and Delay: The PIDB’s Ongoing Pursuit of Public Access to 9/11 Records
Over the past year, the PIDB has had an ongoing opportunity to evaluate tools for automating classification and declassification at a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the CIA. We have also taken time to speak with experts from industry in order to understand the broader emerging landscape … Continue reading Establishing a Centralized and Automated System for Classification Review
Today’s post was written by Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) members Carter Burwell and Carmen Medina. On Friday, April 19, 2024, two members of the PIDB spoke at Columbia University at the 2nd Annual Conference in Honor of Robert Jervis. The event was titled "The Dark State? Government Secrecy and American Democracy" and was hosted at Columbia's … Continue reading Columbia University Hosts Conference: The Dark State? Government Secrecy and American Democracy
On May 22, 2023, PIDB member Ezra Cohen joined Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC), to discuss ”Classification Policy Reform and the Issues of Overclassification,” at The Institute of World Politics, in Washington, DC. The discussion highlighted the NPEC occasional paper “Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?”, which … Continue reading PIDB Member and NPEC Executive Director Discuss Classification Reform and Overclassification at The World Institute of Politics; Video Available on YouTube
On May 11, 2023, the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security co-sponsored a panel discussion of the NPEC’s study on “Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?”. The panel met at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, and featured Senator Mark R. Warner, … Continue reading ABA/NPEC Panel Discussion on Over-Classification Includes Senators and PIDB Member
