Documents: Obama Administration Gave Some Pretty Extraordinary Information And Access To Bin Laden Raid Filmmakers

Judicial Watch has been in court for months trying to get access to records to see how the Obama Administration has been helping filmmakers produce their bin Laden raid move.

As many suspected, the answer is, quite a damn bit.

A transcript of a July 14, 2011, meeting between DOD officials, including Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers, Bigelow and Boal indicates that Boal met directly with White House officials on at least two occasions regarding the film: “I took your guidance and spoke to the WH and had a good meeting with Brennan and McDonough and I plan to follow up with them; and they were forward leaning and interested in sharing their point of view; command and control; so that was great, thank you,” Boal said according to the transcript. Vickers asks if the meeting was a follow-up, to which Boal responds, “Yes correct; this was a follow-up.” The documents seemingly reference John O. Brennan, Chief Counterterrorism Advisor to President Obama and Denis McDonough, who serves as President Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor.

The July 14, 2011, meeting transcript also reveals that the DOD provided the filmmakers with the identity of a “planner, SEAL Team 6 Operator and Commander.” (The name is blacked out in the document.) In proposing the arrangement, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers said: “The only thing we ask is that you not reveal his name in any way as a consultant because . . . he shouldn’t be talking out of school.” Vickers went on to say during the meeting at the Pentagon: “This at least, this gives him one step removed and he knows what he can and can’t say, but this way at least he can be as open as he can with you and it ought to meet your needs.” Boal later responds, “You delivered.”

There's more, quite a bit more at the link but those two highlights are shocking. The President's chief counter-terrorism adviser and Deputy NSA were involved in this? And they outed a Navy SEAL involved in the raid? Are you kidding me?

Of course the movie was originally set to open in mid-October of this year but has been pushed back until December and after the election.

Team Obama obviously wanted this movie to be a big hit and a not so subtle reminder that he killed bin Laden with the power of his "gutsy call".

One thing to consider...could the movie have run afoul of campaign laws prior to the left's Bete´ noire´ Citizen's United decision? Remember Citizens United was about a movie the group made about Hillary Clinton. The FEC ruled it was a campaign ad and therefore subject to the laws blackout window on ads by outside groups leading up to primaries and general elections.

Of course the FEC had previously ruled that Fahrenheit 9/11 and ads promoting it were just fine. Funny how controlling speech only cut against conservatives.

Would it have been a stretch to include the bin Laden movie under campaign laws? Sure but that's what lawyers and bureaucrats do all the time. It's also exactly what the First Amendment is there for...to keep the government out of most speech, especially political speech.

Related(ish): Pakistani doctor who helped CIA try to ID bin Laden convicted of treason and sentence to over 30 years in jail.

It's not clear if the US leaked this guys name or his role in the operation but Leon Panneta, Director of the CIA at the time of the raid, confirmed the doctor's role in the operation to the entire world.

posted by DrewM. at 09:46 AM

| Access Comments