Rep. Pete King knocked President Obama over reports he green-lighted unprecedented access of the Navy SEALs crew who killed Osama bin Laden to Hollywood filmmakers.
Our Joseph Straw reports from Washington:
Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, who made 2008’s Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker,” are behind the planned picture of the risky May raid.
The movie is scheduled for release on Oct. 12, 2012, less than a month before next year’s general election – an October surprise blown this week by the New York Times.
King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has demanded that Pentagon and CIA inspectors general investigate their access. He cited reports that Boal was on hand for a closed-door intel agency ceremony honoring the Bin Laden team, raising eyebrows in the room.
The schmoozing could risk lives and imperil the fight against an Al Qaeda that’s on the ropes, King wrote in a letter to the watchdogs.
The “alleged collaboration belies a desire for transparency in favor of a cinematographic view of history,” King wrote.
Leaders in the intelligence and defense communities often complain that while the presidential administration demand agencies shore up leaks, selected journalists get high-level access so politicians can craft public perceptions, and their legacies.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
