Bin Laden Movie Director Given Access to Classified Material? - East Idaho News
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Bin Laden Movie Director Given Access to Classified Material?

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Getty W BinLaden?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1337852489302AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The watchdog group Judicial Watch has revealed a trove of information gleaned from Freedom of Information Requests concerning director Katherine Bigalow and her Hurt Locker screenwriter Mark Boal’s upcoming movie about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Specifically, in an effort to help shape “talking points” approved by the White House, the Defense Department granted Bigelow and Boal access to a normally secret, “Operator and Commander of SEAL Team Six,” and a top-secret CIA facility called The Vault from which the bin Laden raid was launched.  The filmmakers were also allowed access to other information the Defense Department didn’t want leaked to the public or the media.

The 153 pages of records uncovered by the group includes emails from Department of Defense and White House officials, showing a close cooperation on the movie’s narrative, and how it can best project the Obama White House.

The watchdog group concluded, “It is both ironic and hypocritical that the Obama administration stonewalled Judicial Watch’s pursuit of the bin Laden death photos, citing national security concerns, yet seemed willing to share intimate details regarding the raid to help Hollywood filmmakers release a movie” that could, “give ‘a home-stretch boost’ to the Obama campaign.”

The filmmakers insisted the Sony Pictures-produced film was in the works before President Obama took office and its motivations aren’t political.  The movie, which has yet to be officially titled, was to be released before the November election. Its release date has since been bumped to December.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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