Previously classified documents released by the Trump administration reveal that both former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush received multiple warnings that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network were planning to hijack commercial jets to attack the United States. The intelligence, contained in presidential daily briefs and CIA memorandums, indicated that al-Qaeda operatives had even conducted trial runs at a New York airport years before the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The plotters aimed to use hijacked flights to demand the release of imprisoned extremists, including Shaykh 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman and Ramzi Yousef. A presidential daily brief from December 4, 1998, stated that while no group directly tied to al-Qaeda had previously carried out an aircraft hijacking, "Bin Ladin could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft."
Earlier, a September 10, 1998, memo noted that bin Laden’s preferred option was to strike on U.S. soil in Washington, D.C., warning that the network responsible for the East Africa embassy bombings could potentially fly a plane packed with explosives into an American city. Throughout 1998, U.S. intelligence agencies tracked bin Laden's movements and support systems, identifying associates and sympathizers in several states, including New York, California, Texas, Michigan, and Florida.
These warnings spanned two administrations. An August 6, 2001, daily brief delivered to President Bush informed him that the FBI had uncovered suspicious activity patterns within the U.S. consistent with preparations for hijackings or other attacks, as well as recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York. The document stated, "Al-Qa’ida members — including some who are US citizens — have resided in or traveled to the US for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks."
Weeks before the September 11 attacks, a daily brief for Bush indicated that the FBI was conducting approximately 70 field investigations across the U.S. that were believed to be related to bin Laden. These documents were released as part of a broader initiative by the Trump administration to provide more information about what intelligence agencies knew prior to the attacks.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe announced the release of 71 presidential daily briefs in a statement, stating the action was intended "to honor the lives of those killed on 9/11, along with CIA officers who subsequently gave their lives to the fight." The Trump administration had previously declassified files related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.