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David Ray Griffin

Theologian, philosopher of religion, and the most prolific academic author challenging the official narrative of the September 11, 2001 attacks, writing over ten books on the subject between 2004 and 2018.

FieldDetails
Full NameDavid Ray Griffin
BornAugust 8, 1939
DiedNovember 25, 2022
RoleAuthor / Researcher / Theologian
PlatformBooks, lectures, academic conferences
Academic PositionProfessor of Philosophy of Religion and Theology, Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University (1973-2004)
Notable WorksThe New Pearl Harbor (2004), The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions (2005), Debunking 9/11 Debunking (2007), The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7 (2009), 9/11 Unmasked (2018)
Evidence RatingDEBATED

Academic Background​

Griffin earned his master's degree in counseling from the University of Oregon in 1963, then pursued philosophical theology at Claremont Graduate University, where he was awarded a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Theology in 1968. He joined the faculty of Claremont School of Theology in 1973, where he taught for over thirty years until his retirement in 2004.

With his senior colleague John B. Cobb Jr., Griffin co-founded the Center for Process Studies in 1973, a research center affiliated with Claremont School of Theology. He was one of the two best-known living scholars of Alfred North Whitehead's process theology. His academic work spanned postmodernism, theodicy, panentheism, scientific naturalism, parapsychology, Buddhist thought, and the mind-body problem. Prior to turning his attention to 9/11, Griffin had authored or edited over twenty books on theology and philosophy of religion.

This extensive academic pedigree is central to understanding why Griffin's entry into the 9/11 debate carried weight that other critics of the official narrative lacked. He brought the methodology of a career academic -- systematic argumentation, exhaustive citation, careful distinction between established fact and interpretation -- to material that was often dismissed as fringe.

How He Came to 9/11 Research​

Griffin initially accepted the official account of the September 11 attacks, viewing them as blowback from American foreign policy in the Middle East. Around the time of his retirement in 2004, colleagues pointed him toward evidence they considered suspicious. Upon deeper investigation, Griffin concluded that serious anomalies existed in the official narrative and that a new, independent investigation was warranted. He spent the remaining eighteen years of his life researching and writing about these anomalies.

Major 9/11 Books​

  1. The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11 (2004) -- His first book on the subject, examining inconsistencies and contradictions in the official account of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Argued the Bush administration was at minimum complicit.

  2. The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions (2005) -- A systematic critique identifying 115 alleged omissions or distortions of evidence in the official Commission report. Called the report "a 571-page lie."

  3. Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action (2006) -- Connected his 9/11 research to his theological work, arguing that confronting state crimes was a moral and religious obligation.

  4. 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out (2006, co-edited with Peter Dale Scott) -- An anthology of academic and intellectual critiques of the official narrative.

  5. Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory (2007) -- A point-by-point rebuttal of Popular Mechanics and other publications that had attempted to debunk 9/11 skeptics.

  6. 9/11 Contradictions: An Open Letter to Congress and the Press (2008) -- Presented 25 specific contradictions within the official account and called on Congress and the press to investigate.

  7. The New Pearl Harbor Revisited: 9/11, the Cover-Up, and the Expose (2008) -- Updated and expanded version of his original 2004 book incorporating new evidence.

  8. The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Final Official Report About 9/11 Is Unscientific and False (2009) -- Focused entirely on the collapse of Building 7, arguing that NIST's report was guilty of scientific fraud including fabricating, falsifying, and ignoring evidence.

  9. Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee's Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory (2010) -- A critique of Cass Sunstein's proposal to "cognitively infiltrate" groups questioning the official 9/11 narrative.

  10. 9/11 Ten Years Later: When State Crimes Against Democracy Succeed (2011) -- A decade-later assessment of the evidence and the failure of institutions to investigate.

  11. Bush and Cheney: How They Ruined America and the World (2017) -- Broader critique of the Bush administration's policies, rooted in his 9/11 research.

  12. 9/11 Unmasked: An International Review Panel Investigation (2018, with Elizabeth Woodworth) -- Presented findings of the 9/11 Consensus Panel, which applied a scientific best-evidence methodology to evaluate claims about 9/11.

Key Arguments​

WTC Controlled Demolition​

Griffin argued that the collapse of World Trade Center Buildings 1, 2, and 7 exhibited characteristics inconsistent with fire-induced structural failure and consistent with controlled demolition. For Building 7, which was not struck by an aircraft, he focused on its near-free-fall descent, the symmetry of the collapse, and NIST's acknowledgment that the building fell at gravitational acceleration for approximately 2.25 seconds. He argued that fire had never before or since caused the total collapse of a steel-framed high-rise building. His work on WTC 7 directly complemented the structural analysis performed by Richard Gage and Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, as well as the research of Niels Harrit regarding unexplained chemical residues in WTC dust.

Phone Call Anomalies​

Beginning with The New Pearl Harbor, Griffin raised questions about phone calls reportedly made from the hijacked aircraft, particularly the account given by Ted Olson regarding calls from his wife, Barbara Olson, aboard Flight 77. Griffin questioned whether cell phone technology in 2001 could have supported calls from commercial aircraft at cruising altitude. He later argued that FBI evidence presented at the Moussaoui trial contradicted earlier official claims about these calls.

NORAD Stand-Down​

Griffin examined why standard intercept procedures apparently failed on September 11. He documented that FAA officials had three warning indicators -- aircraft off-course, lost radio contact, and lost transponder signals -- yet military jets were not scrambled in time. He argued that the 9/11 Commission's revised timeline was constructed specifically to absolve the military of responsibility for the failed response.

Commission Cover-Up​

Griffin's most sustained argument was that the 9/11 Commission itself was a cover-up rather than a genuine investigation. He pointed to conflicts of interest among commissioners, the executive director Philip Zelikow's close ties to the Bush administration, the Commission's failure to address key evidence, and the obstruction reported by FBI whistleblowers including Coleen Rowley. He documented 115 specific instances of what he classified as omissions or distortions.

Methodology​

Griffin explicitly framed his approach as applying standard academic methodology to the available evidence. He distinguished between types of evidence (physical, testimonial, documentary), noted where official accounts contradicted each other, and consistently argued that the official narrative should be held to the same evidentiary standards as any alternative theory. He referred to the official account as "the official conspiracy theory" to emphasize that it, too, was a theory requiring evidence.

Key Quotes​

"The entire Report is constructed in support of one big lie: that the official story about 9/11 is true." -- David Ray Griffin, The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions (2005)

"The official conspiracy theory about 9/11 has been used to justify attacks on two countries, which have caused over a million deaths, including the deaths of thousands of Americans. This theory has also been used to justify a general undermining of the US Constitution... Congress and the press need to ask if the many contradictions in this story point to its falsity." -- David Ray Griffin, 9/11 Contradictions (2008)

"If 9/11 was brought about by forces within our own government, [and thus] is antithetical to the general good, it is the responsibility of a theologian and public intellectual to probe and explore the issue." -- David Ray Griffin, interview

Recognition​

Griffin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in both 2008 and 2009 for his 9/11 research. In September 2009, Britain's New Statesman ranked him #41 among "The 50 People Who Matter Today." He was featured by Americans Who Tell The Truth, a project documenting citizens who have spoken out on matters of national importance.

The Counterargument​

The overwhelming consensus among structural engineers, physicists, and national security professionals supports the official explanation of the 9/11 attacks as carried out by al-Qaeda operatives. Specific counterarguments to Griffin's work include:

  • NIST's investigation concluded that fire-induced thermal expansion caused the collapse of WTC 7, and that the collapses of WTC 1 and 2 were initiated by aircraft impact damage combined with fire. NIST's findings have been supported by subsequent peer-reviewed engineering studies.
  • Popular Mechanics published detailed rebuttals addressing controlled demolition claims, phone call questions, and NORAD response timelines. Griffin responded with Debunking 9/11 Debunking, but critics argued his counter-rebuttals introduced new unsupported claims.
  • Academic credentials critique -- Critics noted that Griffin's expertise was in theology and philosophy of religion, not structural engineering, physics, or aviation, and that his 9/11 work did not undergo standard peer review in relevant scientific fields.
  • Voice morphing claims -- Griffin's suggestion that phone calls from the planes may have been faked using voice-morphing technology was widely criticized as speculative and unsupported by evidence.
  • Scientific community -- The mainstream scientific and engineering communities have not accepted Griffin's conclusions. His theories do not typically meet the standards of peer-reviewed research in the relevant disciplines.

Griffin's supporters counter that his role was not to perform original scientific research but to synthesize publicly available evidence, identify contradictions, and call for a proper independent investigation -- a role well suited to a philosopher trained in logical analysis. They also note that several of his specific claims, such as the free-fall speed of WTC 7, were subsequently acknowledged by NIST itself.

Death​

Griffin was diagnosed with cancer that progressed to the point that his oncologists referred him to hospice care in late July 2022, with round-the-clock home care beginning in early August. He died on November 25, 2022, at the age of 83. Tributes poured in from the 9/11 research community, with Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth stating, "In a just world there would be a statue in your honor."

  • Richard Gage -- Founder of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, whose structural analysis complemented Griffin's written arguments about controlled demolition
  • Niels Harrit -- Danish chemist whose research on thermitic material in WTC dust provided scientific evidence Griffin cited in his later works
  • William Rodriguez -- WTC janitor and last survivor pulled from the rubble, whose testimony about basement explosions Griffin highlighted as contradicting the official timeline
  • Philip Zelikow -- Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, whom Griffin identified as having disqualifying conflicts of interest

Other Coverage Worth Reading​

  • Sibel Edmonds: FBI translator turned whistleblower who says the Bureau silenced her evidence of pre-9/11 intelligence failures.
  • Bob Graham: Senate Intelligence Committee co-chair who spent two decades fighting to declassify the 28 pages on Saudi involvement.
  • Coleen Rowley: FBI agent whose memo to Director Mueller documented how headquarters blocked the Minneapolis office from investigating Moussaoui before 9/11.
  • Philip Zelikow: The man who controlled the 9/11 Commission's investigation while maintaining undisclosed ties to the Bush White House.

Sources​

This information was compiled by Claude AI research.