DID CIA GIVE FILMMAKERS CLASSIFIED INFO ABOUT BIN LADEN RAID?

The conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch charged on Tuesday that the Obama administration gave Oscar-winning filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal classified information and gave them access to government officials for their film about the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. The group posted what it claimed were 153 pages of Pentagon documents and 113 pages of CIA documents that it said it had obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The film, Zero Dark Thirty is reportedly in post-production and is due to be released in December. Reuters quoted CIA and Pentagon officials as dismissing the matter, saying that they often cooperate with filmmakers. They denied that Bigelow or Boal had been given access to classified documents. Jennifer Youngblood, a CIA spokeswoman told the wire service: “Our goal is an accurate portrayal of the men and women of the CIA, their vital mission and the commitment to public service that defines them. The protection of national security equities is always paramount in any engagement with the entertainment industry.”