Navy SEAL who wrote book on bin Laden raid could face probe

Fox News made public on Thursday what it said was the real name of the former SEAL who, with a journalist co-author, wrote “No Easy Day” under the pseudonym Mark Owen. The book is due to be released next month. The book’s publisher, Dutton, said Owen was “one of the first men through the door […]

Fox News made public on Thursday what it said was the real name of the former SEAL who, with a journalist co-author, wrote “No Easy Day” under the pseudonym Mark Owen. The book is due to be released next month.

The book’s publisher, Dutton, said Owen was “one of the first men through the door on the third floor of the terrorist leader’s hideout and was present at his death.”

Colonel Tim Nye, spokesman for the U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, which directs operations by Navy SEALs and other special operations forces, said on Thursday that SOCOM did not review the book before publication, nor had the SEALs.

Nye said that because the book had not been subjected to appropriate pre-publication review, it could become a target of “potential investigation” by government authorities. He added that any such inquiry was unlikely to be launched until after the book’s publication, scheduled for the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

It is not known whether “No Easy Day” contains details of commando operations that the U.S. government considers secret.

But the growing controversy over the book adds new layers of complexity to an already heated election-season debate over credit for the killing of the al Qaeda leader, classified information and news leaks.

Republicans led by presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have criticized President Barack Obama and his administration for what they describe as excessive and self-serving leaks of security operations.

A group of former U.S. intelligence and Special Forces operatives, many with Republican ties, launched an anti-Obama media campaign earlier this month along the same lines.

The White House and Obama’s re-election campaign have denied compromising classified information and accused Republicans of trying to “Swift Boat” the president, a reference to hardball smear tactics used to attack the war record of Democratic Senator John Kerry when he unsuccessfully challenged George W. Bush for the White House in 2004.

The Obama administration has acknowledged providing guidance and access for the makers of a separate movie on the hunt for bin Laden, “Zero Dark Thirty,” but denied charges it shared classified information with the film makers.

CRIMINAL PROBE RISK

On Wednesday, spokesmen for the White House, Defense Department headquarters and CIA all said they had not been consulted before learning of the planned publication of “No Easy Day.” Laws covering CIA and military personnel require current and former personnel to seek official review before publishing material that could contain classified information.

On Wednesday, the publisher said the book had been vetted “for tactical, technical, and procedural information as well as information that could be considered classified by compilation” by a former “special operations attorney.”

But Nye, the SOCOM spokesman, said any such review by a non-governmental attorney was “irrelevant.”

Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who has represented numerous former intelligence and military personnel in disputes and litigation relating to public disclosure, said that simply by publishing a book without having it reviewed by relevant officials, a former Special Forces member could expose himself to civil litigation and potential penalties.

Source: Reuters