Panetta Revealed Classified SEAL Info

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**Seaward**

From Politico. This annoys me.

Former CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed the name of the Navy SEAL unit that carried out the Osama bin Laden raid and named the unit’s ground commander at a 2011 ceremony attended by “Zero Dark Thirty” filmmaker Mark Boal, according to a draft Pentagon inspector general’s report obtained by a watchdog group.

Panetta also disclosed classified information designated as “top secret” and “secret” during his presentation at the CIA awards ceremony, says the draft IG report published Wednesday by the Project on Government Oversight.

The report does not make clear whether Panetta was aware that Boal was present at the ceremony, held under a tent at the CIA complex on June 24, 2011. “Approximately 1,300” people from the military and the intelligence community were on hand for the event, according to a CIA press release issued the following week.

The disclosure of the IG report could complicate the Obama administration’s claims that senior officials have not leaked classified information. Last spring, Republicans publicly attacked President Barack Obama and his top aides, alleging that the administration leaked national security secrets to burnish Obama’s standing for his reelection bid.

The release of the findings in the draft report also raises questions about why the findings have been under wraps for so long and which of the document’s conclusions were known to White House officials prior to last November’s election.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who requested the inspector general’s review, said he was disturbed by the report’s findings and by the delays in its official release. “It does raise issues about a lack of security at the CIA and at DoD,” King told POLITICO on Wednesday. “The most important issue right now is why this report was held back for so long. Inspectors general are supposed to be independent. It’s the integrity of the process. … It’s important to know where that pressure [to withhold it] was coming from.”

King said he still had no official notification about the report but heard that it had been completed some time ago. “I’ve been hearing at least since January that this report was final and that it could affect some high-ranking people, some high-ranking officials,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office did not provide a reason for the delay. “While we do not have a projected date of completion for the referenced report, we are working diligently to complete the project as quickly as possible,” Bridget Serchak told POLITICO. She added that general practice is to note soon-to-be released reports in the department’s newsletter, and include unclassified reports in the newsletter and on the website and listserv after they have been released.

DoD has been without a confirmed inspector general since December 2011.

A source told POLITICO last July that the DoD IG review was essentially complete and that that the findings could be politically significant, though an IG spokeswoman said at the time that “no release date has yet been determined.”

In December, the spokeswoman told POLITICO: “The assessment report our staff is preparing in response to the congressional request from Rep. King has not yet been completed, so there is no update at this time.”

**Frazzled**

Quick sieze all the phone records of Fox News from 1990 to 2012! We have to discover who was aiding and abetting that leak!

**Dreadclaw69**

Frazzled wrote:
Quick sieze all the phone records of Fox News from 1990 to 2012! We have to discover who was aiding and abetting that leak!

Pretty much

I do love the hypocrisy of leaking classified information while prosecuting other for doing the same.

**Seaward**

Something just tells me the people who suddenly gave a gak about national security when Valerie Plame got outed are going to decide not to get worked up over this one.

**Jihadin**

Valeria Plame the one that was off duty CIA agent married to a senator? Seem like a "backstab" is I ever saw one

**Seaward**

Jihadin wrote:
Valeria Plame the one that was off duty CIA agent married to a senator? Seem like a "backstab" is I ever saw one

Ambassador, but yeah.

**Kanluwen**

Why is this an issue now?

**djones520**

Kanluwen wrote:
Why is this an issue now?

Because divulging Top Secret information is a HUGE offense. My ass would be gak canned in a heartbeat if I did that, possibly facing criminal charges. I don't have friends in the White House though...

**Kanluwen**

You missed my point.

The incident in question happened in 2011.
The incident in question involved one person who was present but not having proper clearance.

Has there been any kind of evidence that would suggest that Mark Boal has leaked that information?

That is what I'm curious about. The whole investigation was launched--purportedly--because Obama and his administration were leaking information to improve his reelection.

**Super Ready**

Kanluwen wrote:
Has there been any kind of evidence that would suggest that Mark Boal has leaked that information?

We're hearing about it now, right...? That means at the very least someone told the press something they perhaps shouldn't. Even if it wasn't Mark Boal.

**djones520**

Kanluwen wrote:
You missed my point.

The incident in question happened in 2011.
The incident in question involved one person who was present but not having proper clearance.

Has there been any kind of evidence that would suggest that Mark Boal has leaked that information?

That is what I'm curious about. The whole investigation was launched--purportedly--because Obama and his administration were leaking information to improve his reelection.

And that doesn't matter. Even if the people had the clearance, they may not have had the need to know the information. He improperly, possibly illegally, divulged classified information. That in itself is a crime. Or would be if you didn't have connections.

**Kanluwen**

djones520 wrote:
Kanluwen wrote:
You missed my point.

The incident in question happened in 2011.
The incident in question involved one person who was present but not having proper clearance.

Has there been any kind of evidence that would suggest that Mark Boal has leaked that information?

That is what I'm curious about. The whole investigation was launched--purportedly--because Obama and his administration were leaking information to improve his reelection.

And that doesn't matter. Even if the people had the clearance, they may not have had the need to know the information. He improperly, possibly illegally, divulged classified information. That in itself is a crime. Or would be if you didn't have connections.

I think it's reasonably safe to postulate that "1300 people from the military and intelligence community" at a CIA awards ceremony had the clearance and 'need to know' for the information in question.

**djones520**

Kanluwen wrote:
djones520 wrote:
Kanluwen wrote:
You missed my point.

The incident in question happened in 2011.
The incident in question involved one person who was present but not having proper clearance.

Has there been any kind of evidence that would suggest that Mark Boal has leaked that information?

That is what I'm curious about. The whole investigation was launched--purportedly--because Obama and his administration were leaking information to improve his reelection.

And that doesn't matter. Even if the people had the clearance, they may not have had the need to know the information. He improperly, possibly illegally, divulged classified information. That in itself is a crime. Or would be if you didn't have connections.

I think it's reasonably safe to postulate that "1300 people from the military and intelligence community" at a CIA awards ceremony had the clearance and 'need to know' for the information in question.

I'd say it's not. I'd also like to know if like every classified briefing I've attended in my career, the data was prefaced with it's classification, and entities it was allowed to be shared with, so that those recieving the information were made aware of it's classification. Given the nature of the event, it seems highly unlikely. So broken procedures there as well.

This stuff is punishable under the Espionage Act of 1918. That's the same act that Bradly Manning has been charged under.

**Kanluwen**

I think comparing this situation with Bradley Manning is a little bit hyperbolic, don't you?

**KalashnikovMarine**

Cool, Panetta is a massive donkey cave and this just drives the point home.

**djones520**

Kanluwen wrote:
I think comparing this situation with Bradley Manning is a little bit hyperbolic, don't you?

I'm not comparing it to Manning's situation. I'm just pointing out the law that it violates, and presented a commonly known case that is also in violation of that law.

So that should be clear for everyone now.

**Ouze**

Seaward wrote:
The report does not make clear whether Panetta was aware that Boal was present at the ceremony, held under a tent at the CIA complex on June 24, 2011. “Approximately 1,300” people from the military and the intelligence community were on hand for the event, according to a CIA press release issued the following week.

Does anyone have a picture of this tent?

**Jihadin**

Manning was slammed under the rules and regulations of UCMJ. Panetta might get hit by the Espoinage Act or something similar. Or whatever Federal Laws that apply to him.

**Ouze**

Jihadin wrote:
Panetta might get hit by the Espoinage Act or something similar. Or whatever Federal Laws that apply to him.

Yeah, and if you buy a powerball ticket, you'll be a millionaire

**Jihadin**

Can't...some 84 senior in FLA won that bad boy.....and asked for privacy.....ever notice those that win the BIG ONE is on their last leg,,,,and pot.....

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Besides...UCMJ outlines the punishment...unlike Fed laws...never know what you might roll....besides Panetta retired

**Ouze**

What I was saying was, if you buy a powerball ticket, you might hit it big. But realistically, you won't.

My feeling is that if a Secdef hands a big blaze orange briefcase, upon which is stenciled NUCLEAR SECRETS SHHHH; to Vladimir Putin on the White House lawn while also kicking a baby, he wouldn't get charged with anything, least of all Espionage.

**Jihadin**

-Deleted-....damn you Ouze

**Seaward**

Kanluwen wrote:
Has there been any kind of evidence that would suggest that Mark Boal has leaked that information?

How do we know? We don't know what all was leaked, aside from the name of the unit of artists formerly known as DEVGRU and the unit's commander. All it says beyond that is "other" top secret/secret information.

**sebster**

Seaward wrote:
Something just tells me the people who suddenly gave a gak about national security when Valerie Plame got outed are going to decide not to get worked up over this one.

There is a difference between leaking someone's CIA position to the media as part of a spite campaign against that person's husband for questioning the need to engage in a war*, and giving the name of a unit and one individual involved in an operation on CIA grounds, in front of an audience consisting of CIA personel and maybe one other guy.

Now, I'm not saying the latter is okay, but for feth's sake the difference should be more than a little obvious.

*And I forget, who was right about that all along? Was Jo Wilson right in questioning the Whitehouse's assertions on the presence of WMDs in Iraq, or did we end up discovering uranium enrichment facilities...

**Seaward**

sebster wrote:
Seaward wrote:
Something just tells me the people who suddenly gave a gak about national security when Valerie Plame got outed are going to decide not to get worked up over this one.

There is a difference between leaking someone's CIA position to the media as part of a spite campaign against that person's husband for questioning the need to engage in a war*, and giving the name of a unit and one individual involved in an operation on CIA grounds, in front of an audience consisting of CIA personel and maybe one other guy.

That's not all he revealed. I recommend reading the article.

**Frazzled**

Kanluwen wrote:
Why is this an issue now?

beacause it came out they were looking to try to drop the hammer on a reporter, but their own guys (including Obama to the NY Times) were doing it.

**Captain Fantastic**

Panetta needs to take an OPSEC class over his 96. Put him on extra duty too.