Why Isn't Undersecretary of Defense Michael Vickers Being Prosecuted for Outing SEAL Team 6's Commander?

Earlier this week, Judicial Watch announced that it had won its battle with the Obama administration regarding its collusion with Hollywood producers to produce a movie about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The movie was originally slated for release in the weeks ahead of the presidential election, so its political import is obvious. It would remind voters about the raid, one of the very few bragging points President Obama can claim, as they consider re-electing or replacing him in November.

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Among the bombshells Judicial Watch found in the documents, and there are several, is the fact that Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers disclosed the true identity of SEAL Team 6’s commander to those Hollywood producers. Vickers even offered the heroic commander’s services as a consultant on the film.

The July 14, 2011, meeting transcript also reveals that the DOD provided the filmmakers with the identity of a “planner, SEAL Team 6 Operator and Commander.”  (The name is blacked out in the document.)  In proposing the arrangement, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers said: “The only thing we ask is that you not reveal his name in any way as a consultant because . . . he shouldn’t be talking out of school.” Vickers went on to say during the meeting at the Pentagon: “This at least, this gives him one step removed and he knows what he can and can’t say, but this way at least he can be as open as he can with you and it ought to meet your needs.” Boal later responds, “You delivered.”

That is classified information. The military keeps such information closely guarded for multiple reasons, operational as well as for the safety of our special forces’ families. Once that information is in the hands of anyone outside the DoD, though, its potential to leak and end up in the hands of our enemies is very great. The damage that can be done to our national security with this information can be very grave.

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Supposing Vickers was authorized to hand this highly sensitive information over to the movie producers, the authorization must have come from very high up, probably either the secretary of defense or the president. Congress must investigate who authorized handing this sensitive, classified information over to Hollywood producers. If Vickers’ disclosure was not authorized, then he must be prosecuted.

More: Flashback — the SEALs were not happy to be used as campaign props by the Obama campaign.

A serving SEAL Team member said: ‘Obama wasn’t in the field, at risk, carrying a gun. As president, at every turn he should be thanking the guys who put their lives on the line to do this. He does so in his official speeches because he speechwriters are smart.

‘But the more he tries to take the credit for it, the more the ground operators are saying, “Come on, man!” It really didn’t matter who was president. At the end of the day, they were going to go.’

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