The Obama administration gave the filmmakers behind the upcoming Osama bin Laden film “Zero Dark Thirty” information that could cause an “unnecessary security and counterintelligence risk” if released to the public,” according to Judicial Watch.
The group’s information comes from sworn court documents acquired during the course of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit regarding the ties between “Zero Dark Thirty” and the current administration.
Judicial Watch previously obtained information from the Department of Defense and the CIA indicating Team Obama wanted to have “high visibility” into bin Laden-related projects. The group also learned “Zero” screenwriter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow were given “unusual access” to help them make the movie.
The DOD and the CIA will not release information concerning the names of five CIA and military operatives involved in the bin Laden raid, but the information was given to the filmmakers.Judicial Watch says the government promised to protect the operatives’ confidentiality by asking the filmmakers not to share the names. Yet no evidence exists that filmmakers were asked to sign so much as a non-disclosure agreement, nor is there proof either Boal or Bigelow underwent the kind of background checks that would normally be associated with receiving such sensitive information.
“The Obama administration now confirms to a federal court that it released sensitive information to help with a film that was set to portray Barack Obama as ‘gutsy.’ If this is true, then the Obama administration was lying to the American people when it said the leaks were no big deal,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement.
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