Under-Secretary of Defense Michael Vickers, considered to be one of the Obama White House’s top choices for the CIA Director’s position, leaked restricted information to the makers of the Osama bin Laden feature “Zero Dark Thirty.”
The news, revealed by McClatchy Newspapers today, is separate from an investigation into possible Obama administration leaks to the film’s crew currently underway by Judicial Watch.
The case involved a determination by investigators of the Pentagon’s inspector general’s office that Vickers provided to the makers of the film, Zero Dark Thirty, the restricted name of a U.S. Special Operations Command officer who helped plan the May 2, 2011, raid on bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan, one official said. The identities of special forces personnel can be classified in certain circumstances and making them public is against the law, according to experts….
The Pentagon inspector general’s office is continuing to examine whether there were any other leaks of restricted information to the makers of the film. In a Dec. 4 letter denying a McClatchy Freedom of Information Act request for the findings, the office said that the material was “currently part of an open investigation….”
One of the filmmakers attended a June 2011 CIA award ceremony that recognized the Navy SEALs and CIA officers involved in the raid, but no effort was made to protect the special operators’ identities, investigators found.
Accusations that the Obama White House offered significant help to the makers of “Zero Dark Thirty” date back to 2011 when Rep. Peter King of New York first called for an investigation into whether the film’s crew obtained sensitive information to help craft the production.
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