In one photo, then-Vice President Dick Cheney rests his feet on his desk as he watches a live TV news report of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In another, he sits beside his wife after they were both frog-marched by Secret Service agents to a secure basement in the White House.
And in a later shot, he takes his glasses off and clasps his hands together before he and his spouse are flown to an undisclosed location.
These never-before-seen images capture Cheney's reaction to the attacks, which saw two hijacked passenger planes crash into the World Trade Center in New York, another jet strike the Pentagon and a fourth crash in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, killing 2,996 people.
They also show the horror felt by other senior government officials, including then-President George Bush and his wife Laura, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, CIA Director George Tenet, Cheney's top lawyer, David Addington, and Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
In the photos, Bush looks tense and even bites his lip as he confers with officials in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), a highly-secure underground bunker below the White House's East Wing that can withstand nuclear hits and other devastating attacks.
The then-President would shortly address the nation about the day's atrocities, which were aired live on TV screens across the world.
The same evening, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, were flown via Marine Two to a secret destination, revealed in the photos to be Camp David.They were later moved to other undisclosed sites as thousands of rescue workers descended on the wreckage of the WTC towers.
On the day of the attacks, Cheney, now 74, was in charge at the White House, with Bush visiting a school in Sarasota, Florida, at the time.
Cheney has since defended the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA in the wake of the plane attacks, which included the waterboarding of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a total of 183 times, declaring that he 'would do it again in a minute'.
The newly-released images of Cheney and other officials' reactions to 9/11 were captured by Cheny's staff photographer, according to PBS.
The photos were released by the National Archives following a FOIA request by FRONTLINE filmmaker Colette Neirouz Hanna.
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Taking it in: Then-Vice President Dick Cheney rests his feet on his desk as he watches a live TV news report of the 9/11 attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. The first plane hit the WTC's North Tower at 8.46am. A second jet struck the South Tower at 9.03am
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Shocked: With his glasses off, Cheney stares to his left after he was frog-marched by agents to a secure basement in the White House
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Crisis: : The never-before-seen images capture Cheney's reaction to the attacks, which saw four hijacked passenger planes crash in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. Above, the then-Vice President holds his head (left) and takes a call (right)
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Aftermath: Cheney, now 78, leans backward and yawns in one of the photos, released following a Freedom of Information Act request
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Tense talks: In the images, Bush (far right) looks tense as he confers with Cheney (far left), Chief of Staff Andrew Card (second left), National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (center) and other officials in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)
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Emergency response: The PEOC is a secure underground bunker below the White House's East Wing that can withstand nuclear hits
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Frustration: Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, the then Secretary of State, in the President's Emergency Operations Center in Washington in the hours after the attacks
In another, he sits beside his wife after they were both frog-marched by Secret Service agents to a secure basement in the White House.
And in a later shot, he takes his glasses off and clasps his hands together before he and his spouse are flown to an undisclosed location.
These never-before-seen images capture Cheney's reaction to the attacks, which saw two hijacked passenger planes crash into the World Trade Center in New York, another jet strike the Pentagon and a fourth crash in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, killing 2,996 people.
They also show the horror felt by other senior government officials, including then-President George Bush and his wife Laura, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, CIA Director George Tenet, Cheney's top lawyer, David Addington, and Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
In the photos, Bush looks tense and even bites his lip as he confers with officials in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), a highly-secure underground bunker below the White House's East Wing that can withstand nuclear hits and other devastating attacks.
The then-President would shortly address the nation about the day's atrocities, which were aired live on TV screens across the world.
The same evening, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, were flown via Marine Two to a secret destination, revealed in the photos to be Camp David.They were later moved to other undisclosed sites as thousands of rescue workers descended on the wreckage of the WTC towers.
On the day of the attacks, Cheney, now 74, was in charge at the White House, with Bush visiting a school in Sarasota, Florida, at the time.
Cheney has since defended the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA in the wake of the plane attacks, which included the waterboarding of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a total of 183 times, declaring that he 'would do it again in a minute'.
The newly-released images of Cheney and other officials' reactions to 9/11 were captured by Cheny's staff photographer, according to PBS.
The photos were released by the National Archives following a FOIA request by FRONTLINE filmmaker Colette Neirouz Hanna.
+28
Taking it in: Then-Vice President Dick Cheney rests his feet on his desk as he watches a live TV news report of the 9/11 attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. The first plane hit the WTC's North Tower at 8.46am. A second jet struck the South Tower at 9.03am
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Shocked: With his glasses off, Cheney stares to his left after he was frog-marched by agents to a secure basement in the White House
+28
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Crisis: : The never-before-seen images capture Cheney's reaction to the attacks, which saw four hijacked passenger planes crash in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. Above, the then-Vice President holds his head (left) and takes a call (right)
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Aftermath: Cheney, now 78, leans backward and yawns in one of the photos, released following a Freedom of Information Act request
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Tense talks: In the images, Bush (far right) looks tense as he confers with Cheney (far left), Chief of Staff Andrew Card (second left), National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (center) and other officials in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)
+28
Emergency response: The PEOC is a secure underground bunker below the White House's East Wing that can withstand nuclear hits
+28
Frustration: Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, the then Secretary of State, in the President's Emergency Operations Center in Washington in the hours after the attacks
