CIA releases dozens of presidential daily briefs on Laden and al-Qaeda

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government declassified dozens of presidential briefing documents, detailing intelligence gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leading up to the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people and upended American national security.

The documents illustrate security analysts' tracking of Laden's movements and support system, as well as concerns about possible threats to U.S. targets.

Proclaiming “an act of exceptional transparency,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the documents were the agency's single largest release of declassified presidential daily briefs — the highly classified briefing prepared by the nation's intelligence community for the government's most senior leaders.