IG Report Concluding that Leon Panetta Leaked Top Secret Info on Bin Ladin Raid, Including Name of SEAL Team 6 That Executed It, Was Completed Long Ago But Delayed Until Now

Wow, that sort of sounds like they did with the IRS IG report.

It also makes the administration sound absurd when it claims it's "just trying to protect national security" when it spies on James Rosen and AP. They don't mind politically-helpful disclosures of classified material.

The release of the findings in the draft report also raises questions about why the findings have been under wraps for so long, and which of the document’s conclusions were known to White House officials prior to last November’s election.

Panetta disclosed this information during a CIA awards ceremony held outside under a tent. Mark Boal, a reporter, was in the group. There were 1300 total persons there.

Politico's report -- and I guess the IG report -- says they're unsure if Panetta knew Mark Boal was at the ceremony. I guess the claim is that maybe Boal snuck in so Panetta didn't know he was disclosing top secret information to a reporter.

Which strikes me as absurd. This is a CIA awards ceremony.

Mark Boal was almost certainly cleared to attend. What is the contrary speculation? That he found the location of a secret CIA awards ceremony and then he just bluffed his way in?

No. This did not happen.

Consider the security on hand for a CIA Awards Ceremony. All the agents who did the most that year, including those who participated in the execution of Bin Laden. This would be a fantastic target for terrorists. And Mark Boal is a well-known intelligence-beat reporter whose face is known to Panetta and half of the CIA.

Mark Boal did not just bluff his way past the maître d', like Ferris Beuhler pretending to be the Sausage King of Chicago. He was invited.

Corrected: 1300 people were at the presentation, not 130, and that wasn't just a typo; I misread the number.

posted by Ace at 11:32 AM

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