The cameras in the White House Situation Room were switched off as May 1, 2011, the day the US was scheduled to carry out the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, approached. But the White House’s official photographers persisted in taking pictures. The public has never had access to those photographs, which depict the tension and eventual celebration among President Obama, his staff, and Pentagon officials. Then, more than a year ago, the Washington Post sent the Obama Presidential Library requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the Presidential Records Act for those official pictures.
A 161-page PDF containing thumbnails for each image shot at the White House between May 1 and May 3, 2011, was sent by the library after 376 days. The images were missing their original metadata, captions, and time stamps. The Post chose the 900 it needed from the start and got high-resolution copies with timestamps in return. It’s published 23 of them here, accompanied by information from oral history and Obama’s book, A Promised Land. A selection is attached to this file.
