Newly declassified CIA files show Bill Clinton's White House was warned in September 1998 that Osama bin Laden wanted to fly a bomb-laden plane into an American city, a warning that came exactly three years before the 9/11 hijackers struck the Pentagon. The documents, released by the CIA to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks, revive scrutiny of how much successive administrations knew about the threat and whether opportunities to prevent the atrocity were missed, surfacing as Clinton stood alongside victims' families at Ground Zero for the commemoration.

The 1998 memo, titled "Bin Laden's Location and Intentions," gave no specific date or target but flagged Washington DC as a likely aim. Further papers show analysts warned in July 1998 that an attack was "plausible" and in October 2000 that bin Laden remained "committed" to striking the US, though they could not pinpoint timing or targets; bin Laden also featured in at least 18 of President Bush's daily briefings in 2001, seven in the weeks before the attacks. Former acting CIA chief Michael Morell said the 71 released documents prove the agency issued "long and loud strategic warnings," though insiders told the Wall Street Journal the intelligence was often thin and came from questionable sources, while one analyst said counterterrorism simply was not a presidential priority beforehand. Separately, 9/11 widow Terry Strada used the Ground Zero ceremony to accuse past administrations of shielding Saudi Arabia and called on Donald Trump to release unredacted files on the kingdom's alleged role.