Americas

Americas

U.S. congressman says Obama administration "too close" with filmmakers on bin Laden raid

24 May 2012 04:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baklu-APA. A U.S. Republican congressman on Wednesday charged the Obama administration for providing classified information for filmmakers working on the assassination story of al-Qaeda formal leader Osama bin Laden, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King alleged that the emails released this week showed the filmmakers of a movie on U.S. Special Operation Forces’ raid of bin Laden had an "extremely close, unprecedented and potentially dangerous collaboration" with top officials of the CIA, the Defense Department and the White House.

"The email messages indicate that the filmmakers were allowed an unprecedented visit to a classified facility so secret that its name is redacted in the released email," said King in a statement.

He also noted that the emails also tell the filmmakers are allowed to tour the CIA’s vaults where sensitive nature of materials are kept.

Judicial Watch released some documents this week including emails from CIA and Pentagon officials, which indicate filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal were granted access to classified information.

King said he had raised questions about the bin Laden movie since last summer, and newly released documents confirmed his suspicions.

He said the planned movie "may have set out to tell a blockbuster, election-year story about one of the most highly classified operation in American history," indicating an attempt to boost President Obama’s re-election bid.

Both Defense Department and the CIA spokespersons denied the allegation.