The headline of the lead article on page 1 of The New York Times on May 16, 2002 was “Bush Was Warned Bin Laden Wanted to Hijack Planes – Report Came in August.” And, according to Newsday (May 16, 2002, page A16), “President George W. Bush was told by U.S. intelligence in advance of the September 11 attacks of a possibility that Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network might hijack American airplanes, prompting the administration to issue a private warning to federal agencies, the White House acknowledged last night.” The article further stated that “the CIA would not confirm what it told Bush.”
These startling revelations broke as many of the families of 9/11 victims considered filing claims with the Victim Compensation Fund rather than commencing litigation. The initial furor over these issues seems to have slightly subsided as of the time of writing this article, although many of our clients have inquired as to whether these disclosures will have any effect on whether they should file claims with the Victim Compensation Fund.
