credit for killing Osama bin Laden is under investigation for possibly
leaking official secrets, The Daily Beast has learned.
When reached for comment, Ed Buice, an NCIS public affairs officer,
confirmed "The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is in
receipt of an allegation that Mr. O'Neill may have revealed classified
information to persons not authorized to receive such information. In
response, NCIS has initiated an investigation to determine the merit
of the allegations."
The news that O'Neill is being investigated for potential criminal
acts hasn't been previously reported.
In previous interviews with The Daily Beast, former Special Operations
officials, as well as other sources who are familiar with the raid on
bin Laden's compound, accused O'Neill of misstatingkey facts and
wrongly taking credit for killing the world's then-most-wanted man.
At issue is who fired the shot--or shots--that hit bin Laden in the
head, splitting open his skull and almost certainly ending his life.
O'Neill insists that he was the shooter. Fellow SEAL Matt Bissonnette
also claims to have shot bin Laden. But others say a
still-unidentified man likely fired the round that caused a lethal
head wound.
It wasn't clear to whom specifically O'Neill is alleged to have
disclosed classified information, or what that information was.
Bissonnette is already under investigation for revealing details about
the bin Laden raid and technical aspects of Special Operations in a
book,No Easy Day, which he declined to vet with military censors
before publication.
O'Neill hasn't written a book, but he has spoken with journalists
about his role in the raid, and particular details about how it was
conducted. O'Neill was the anonymous subject of a 2013Esquiremagazine
profile. He also sat down with Fox News for a documentary that the
network aired last month, built around O'Neill's role in the
operation.
Days before the documentary was set to air, O'Neill was identifiedon
the blog SOFREP.TheWashington Postthen ran an interview with O'Neill
before he appeared on television.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has received an allegation
that fomer SEAL Robert O'Neill may have revealed classified
information to people who weren't authorized to receive it.
O'Neill contends that the non-disclosure agreements he signed while in
the military didn't cover aspects of the raid that he discussed with
journalists, according to people familiar with the matter.
A representative for O'Neill, who tours on the public speaking
circuit, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The military has been trying to stop current and former special
operators from discussing their secretive profession. And some members
of the Special Operations community have strongly criticized
Bissonnette and O'Neill as attempting to profit off the successful bin
Laden raid, for which they say no one can claim sole credit.
In October, the head of Naval Special Warfare Command reminded SEALs
in a letter that they had signed non-disclosure agreements and pledged
not to reveal properly classified information. But some special
operators have argued that Bissonnette and O'Neill are only discussing
details that were already leaked to journalists by White House and
military officials, including in the days after the bin Laden raid.
The leaks were so voluminous, according to a book byNew York
Timesreporter David Sanger, that then-secretary of Defense Robert
Gates told the White House that officials should "shut the fuck up"
about the raid.
"In normal circumstances, the Navy would be right to pursue an
investigation but there's still no evidence that a disclosure of any
type occurred," said Joe Kasper, the chief of staff for Rep. Duncan
Hunter, a California Republican and Marine reservist who knows
O'Neill. "Regardless of whether you think Rob O'Neill should have
identified himself or not, an investigation will need turn up credible
evidence that disclosures were made--and on that front, at least so
far, there's no compelling evidence that occurred."
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