Navy SEAL who published account of bin Laden raid speaks out about criminal investigation
Matthew Bissonnette
released his controversial book No Easy Day in 2012 and immediately faced the
ire of the Pentagon and fellow SEALs.
Things have been so
bad for Bissonnette, AKA Mark Owen, that he told CBS that he'd rather personally
take on the Islamic State.
'I would go back
overseas today and deal with fighting ISIS face-to-face rather than deal with
the last two years again,' he said Sunday
Bissonnette's
surprising statement came as he continued to defend himself against claims he
somehow knowingly endangered his fellow SEALs, and even America's safety as a
whole, by divulging classified information.
'That's absolutely
not what I intended to do. These are my brothers that I served beside for
years,' he said.
Bissonnette told CBS he believed at the time of his book's
publication that he was acting totally within the law.
However, now
Bissonnette says he was following the advice of his attorney at the time when he
chose to forego submitting his manuscript to the Pentagon before it went to
print.
It's clear now that
was a mistake. Even Bissonnette's former commander has washed his hands of the
problem.
'I [wanted] to reach
out to my former command and say, "Hey, look, sir, let's discuss. I have nothing
to hide,"' he said. 'I got a text message back just simply saying, you know,
"Delete me."'
With so much venom
flying his way, the former soldier says he's had to change his habits in hopes
of calling as little attention to himself as possible.
'I fly a little
further underneath the radar than I ever have before. I don't want anybody to
know where I live,' he said. 'I want to be very cautious - security
wise.'
Now, as he prepares
to publish a sequel to his dangerous tome, his lawyer has revealed a vast
proportion of the profits could be soaked up by extensive fines leveled by the
Pentagon.
The latest probe
centers on the speeches Bissonnette has made since publishing his tell-all book
under the pseudonym Mark Owen, The New York Times revealed.
It comes after
Bissonnette submitted a draft of his second book - No Hero: The Evolution Of A
Navy SEAL - for approval from the Department of Defense, including slides and
notes from his speeches.
He has already
apologized for failing to seek approval for his revelations in No Easy Day, and
allegedly agreed to forfeit a portion of his royalties in a dispute
settlement.
However, another
probe has been launched to investigate details disclosed at speeches across the
U.S.
Last year, he spoke
at a golf club in Atlanta where visitors were instructed to deposit their phones
at the door and were barred from taking notes.
His lawyer Robert D
Luskin insists the speeches were not controversial and says he expects the
investigation to be resolved 'favorably'.
Bissonnette was
disciplined in November 2012 for sharing classified information with the makers
of the popular video game Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
According to senior
Navy officials, Bissonnette recruited his fellow SEALs to spend two days as paid
consultants for Electronic Arts.
It was the
investigation the military launched into Bissonnette's book that led the
authorities to discover that he had allegedly 'recruited' the 11 Navy SEALS into
the video game deal.
His second piece of
work is a reaction to the Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty, which consulted
former CIA director Leon E Panetta.
The narrative
conflicted with many elements of Bissonnette's telling, and in his opinion it is
the SEALs' story to tell.
The news comes as the
SEAL Team 6 member called 'The Shooter' - who fired the kill shot at Bin Laden -
prepares to reveal his identity.
He fiercely guarded
in the aftermath of the May 2011 raid on Bin Laden's Abbottabad, Pakisatan
compound, fearing the SEAL could be targeted by al-Qaeda as
retribution.
But he has since
retired and is apparently ready to take off his mask of anonymity to detail the
events leading up to and during Operation Neptune's Spear.
According to a Fox
News press release, the two-part special The Man Who Killed Usama Bin Laden will
air Tuesday November 11 and Wednesday November 12 from 10-11pm ET. The interview
will be conducted by Washington Correspondent Peter Doocy.
'Revealing his
identity and speaking out publicly for the first time, the Navy SEAL, also known
as “The Shooter,” will share his story of training to be a member of America’s
elite fighting force and explain his involvement in Operation Neptune Spear, the
mission that killed Bin Laden,' the press release states.
'The documentary will
provide an extensive, first-hand account of the mission, including the
unexpected crash of one of the helicopters that night and why SEAL Team 6 feared
for their lives. It will also touch upon what was taking place inside the
terrorist compound while President Obama and his cabinet watched from the White
House.'
It's unclear whether
the Shooter's identity will be protected in anyway, or if he will both appear on
the camera and reveal his real name.
Source: Daily Mail
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