New York, January 07: The US has launched a probe into whether classified information on the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan was released to Hollywood filmmakers, a prominent US lawmaker has said.
In August last year, Peter King, a Republican who heads the House homeland security committee, had requested the department of defence ( DoD) and the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) to investigate reports that the Obama administration had granted Sony Pictures and filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow highlevel access for a film on the secret US mission in which the al- Qaeda leader was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2.
“ The leaks that followed the successful mission led to the arrests of Pakistanis and put in danger the mission’s heroes,” King said in a statement, releasing copies of letters written to him by the CIA and DoD. King said he received a letter from the DoD inspector general on December 23, informing him that, following an initial review, the inspector general for intelligence and special program assessments had launched a formal investigation into actions taken by defense department personnel related to the release of information to the filmmakers.
In another letter, the CIA said it was currently developing a written policy to create a single point of reference that will govern future interactions with the entertainment industry.
King has expressed worries about the administration’s cooperation with Sony Pictures and Kathryn Bigelow, the director of the Oscar- winning picture The Hurt Locker who is working on a movie — tentatively titled Kill Bin Laden — on the hunt for Osama.
The film was originally reported to release in October 2012, just a month before the November 2012 elections, King’s statement said.
Actress Jessica Chastain has reportedly been approached to play a field intelligence analyst in the movie, according to contactmusic. com .
Courtesy: Mailtoday