BLUF: [Judicial Watch] "The Obama administration put Hollywood before national security in order to help Barack Obama win reelection," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Has anyone been held accountable for these illegal leaks? The Obama administration put the heroes who killed Osama bin Laden at risk in order to help make this film."
On May 1, 2011, President Obama announced that American personnel had killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and buried his body at sea. President Obama ordered the withholding of photos and video of the deceased bin Laden and his burial at sea, claiming it would be unwise to "spike the football" over bin Laden's killing, as it might be offensive to al Qaeda and other terrorists.
Judicial Watch also immediately requested these photos from the Defense Department and CIA and then, when denied them, sued for their release in federal court. An appellate court upheld President Obama's decision to withhold the records from American citizens because the records might offend terrorists.
Other Judicial Watch litigation forced the release of records showing a cover-up and the dangerous disclosure of classified information, as the Obama administration sought to promote the raid to aid Obama's reelection while at the same time withholding basic information about the raid from the American people.
In response to the Judicial Watch January 2012 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the unusual access given to Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers, CIA Information Review Officer Martha Lutz conceded:
It is my understanding that when the meetings with the filmmakers took place at the CIA Headquarters, the guidance provided to the officers who were undercover or were otherwise in sensitive positions was that they should provide the filmmakers with their true first names only.
Disclosures by Vice News last month, made possible by the work of Judicial Watch, highlighted even more corruption at the Obama CIA as the agency tried to promote the pro-Obama film for the White House.) Vice News reported that the CIA OIG found several potential violations of criminal law by then-CIA Director Leon Panetta, CIA officials, and the filmmakers. The Obama Justice Department refused to prosecute any of the alleged violations.