Washington – The Pentagon’s top lawyer has informed the former Navy SEAL who authored a forthcoming book describing details of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden that he violated agreements to not divulge military secrets and that as a result the Pentagon is considering taking legal action against him.
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The general counsel of the Defense Department, Jeh Johnson, wrote in a letter transmitted to the author on Thursday that he had signed two nondisclosure agreements with the Navy in 2007 that obliged him to “never divulge” classified information. Johnson said that after reviewing a copy of the book, “No Easy Day,” the Pentagon concluded that the author is in “material breach and violation” of the agreements.
Johnson said the department is considering pursuing against him “all remedies legally available to us.”
I don’t know what is true and what is not true in this book.
However, our nation NEEDS to have its secrets to maintain security. We know that they killed Bin Laden. That’s all we, the public, needed to know. If this man violated the terms of his military service, he belongs in a military prison. Period.
If not, we should all take this entire book with a grain of salt. These kinds of books rarely turn out to be factually accurate as publishers push authors to “embellish” stories. The authors usually have a political agenda of their own as well.
I don’t know what is in this book. I don’t know if it is favorable or unfavorable to the administration or the Pentagon. What I do know, from experience, is that most of this book is likely a fabrication.
I’ve known a lot of people – ex-military, former intelligence, diplomats with sensitive positions – who were under these agreements. The government takes them VERY seriously. The littlest, most innocent-seeming thing could have severe repercussions, compromising human assets, ongoing operations and possibly lives.
This guy knew he was supposed to submit everything for pre-publication review. He ignored his duty under the Law in order to get it into the stores by Sept. 11. He deserves whatever legal tsuris is coming his way.
Cat is out of the bag. Get ready for a run on this book.
How about going after the Office of the President for willingly leaking classified information? Then afterwards you can go after this guy…