While much of the focus on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., has been on remembering the fallen and the heroes of that day and reflecting on the impact that horrible day has continued to have, a tranche of newly declassified 9/11 files is rightly drawing attention as well.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13) announced Friday morning that the release was on its way.
I have just been informed there will be tranche of 9/11 files declassified today.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) September 11, 2026
Now the documents have been released and are revealing some stark realities as people pore through them.
The tranche includes 101 pages and will take some time to study, but one revelation immediately caught people's attention.
BREAKING: Newly declassified CIA documents show that U.S. intelligence agencies knew as early as 1998 that Bin Laden planned to hijack American aircraft.
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 11, 2026
“Bin Ladin might implement plans to hijack a US aircraft,” a December 4, 1998 CIA memorandum stated. “[T]wo members of the… pic.twitter.com/citBLuwxRV
BREAKING: Newly declassified CIA documents show that U.S. intelligence agencies knew as early as 1998 that Bin Laden planned to hijack American aircraft.
“Bin Ladin might implement plans to hijack a US aircraft,” a December 4, 1998 CIA memorandum stated. “[T]wo members of the operational team had evaded security checks during a recent trial run at an unidentified New York airport.”
“Some members of the Bin Ladin network have received hijack training,” the memo continued, “but no group directly tied to Bin Ladin’s al-Qa’ida has ever carried out an aircraft hijacking.”
Four months after the CIA authored that memo, the 9/11 hijackers began to obtain the passports and visas they would later need to enter the U.S. Four of them attended flight schools in the U.S. At least one of them lived in an apartment with an FBI source.
Almost since the day of the attacks, questions have been raised regarding potential intelligence failures, and the newly released documents will surely invite added scrutiny on that front.
We'll have further analysis of the documents as they are reviewed. The release may be viewed in full below.
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