CIA to release declassified Nixon and Ford President’s Daily Briefings

On August 10, the Central Intelligence Agency announced its intent to release declassified President’s Daily Briefings from the Nixon and Ford Administrations. Director of Central Intelligence John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are to keynote the event at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on August 24.

Previously classified President’s Daily Briefings (PDB) from the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford Administrations produced by the CIA are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 24 at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, at a symposium from 1:00 – 4:30 pm, entitled The President’s Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford.

The event is open to the public, but those seeking to attend must register in advance with the Nixon Presidential Library. The event will feature panel discussions and remarks by CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, senior Intelligence Community historians, and leaders from the academic and archivist communities.

The President’s Daily Briefs (PDBs) contain intelligence analysis on key national security issues for the president and other senior policymakers. Only the president, vice president, and a select group of officials with high-level security clearance receive the daily briefing, which represents the Intelligence Community’s best insights when confronted with threats, as well as opportunities related to our national security.

This public release highlights the role of the PDBs in foreign and national security policymaking. This collection includes the PDBs published during President Nixon’s term from January 1969 through the end of President Ford’s term in January 1977. These documents offer insight into intelligence that informed presidential decision-making during critical historical events including: the Vietnam War, President Nixon’s Trip to China, the OPEC embargo, and the Arab-Israeli War.

The documents will be posted on the CIA website the day of the symposium athttps://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom. This collection was assembled as part of the CIA’s Historical Review Program, which identifies, reviews, and declassifies documents on historically significant events or topics.

Registration is available at https://cia-nixon-library.eventbrite.com. The program will be live streamed via YouTube at http://nixonfoundation.org/.

Source: CIA