SPECIAL OP Chief Says BLABBERMOUTHS Face CRIMINAL PROSECUTION’

[Segami]

The leader of the U.S. Special Operations Command and architect of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is seriously unhappy about a forthcoming book by a member of the SEAL raiding team. And he wants other elite U.S. commandos to know they could be in for a world of legal trouble if they write their own tell-alls.



No Easy Day is the first first-person description of the Osama bin Laden raid, penned by a former SEAL Team Six member named Matt Bissonnette. It’s set for publication, naturally, on Sept. 11. And it took the Pentagon and the White House by surprise. Admiral William McRaven, the leader of the U.S. Special Operations Command, wants to make sure it doesn’t lead to a pattern of similar memoirs.



McRaven, the former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, reminded fellow members of the special-operations community reminding them that they signed binding documents designed to keep them from discussing their highly secretive work.

“Every member of the special-operations community with a security clearance signed a non-disclosure agreement that was binding during and after service in the military,” McRaven wrote in an open letter to current and former special-operations troops, as reported by the Associated Press and the Daily Beast. “If the U.S. Special Operations Command finds that an active-duty, retired or former service member violated that agreement and that exposure of information was detrimental to the safety of U.S. forces, then we will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate.”

cont'


http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/mcraven-criminal-prosecution/#more-89927

[russspeakeasy]

1. I hope he enjoyed his "pre book" life.

[Segami]

2. I think a different kind of ' team ' will be visiting him soon.

So much for being a team player.

[Downwinder]

3. Might be keeping Manning company.

[movonne]

4. And look what they are doing to Julian Assange...isn't this

guy doing the same thing??? (kinda)

[msongs]

5. assange is not afederal employee w/a confidentiality agreement, who's written a book for $$ nt

[HooptieWagon]

9. Assange is not a US citizen,

nor subject to US law.

[jeff47]

12. Nor has Assange broken US Law

Have to sign that agreement that comes with the security clearance for leaking to be illegal.

Publishing classified that "lands in your lap" is legal. SCOTUS explicitly ruled this in the Pentagon Papers case.

[Mmm_Bacon]

13. Not to highjack but...

... I remember reading that the chat logs between Manning and Assange showed Assange giving tips on access and delivery.

Could be wrong..

[eShirl]

14. link or bullshit

[Mmm_Bacon]

15. Quick google search...

... shows chat logs of Assange requesting data from Manning and discussing best methods for delivery.

"Until Monday’s revelation, there have been no reports that the government had evidence linking Manning and Assange, other than chat logs provided to the FBI by hacker Adrian Lamo last year. Assange is being investigated by a federal grand jury, but has not been charged with any crime, since publishing classified information is not generally considered a crime in the U.S. But if prosecutors could show that Assange directed Manning in leaking government documents that he then published, this could complicate Assange’s defense that WikiLeaks is simply a journalistic endeavor."

"The chat logs mention a request to re-send some unspecified data, showing that the parties had talked before, Johnson said, as well as discussion about using SFTP for uploading data securely to an FTP server."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/12/manning-assange-laptop/

[sabrina 1]

19. That is well known and has been for a long time. An Editor receiving material from a source

such as Bernstein and Woodward, eg, who actually met with their source, is doing nothing illegal by letting a source know they have not received material the source intended for them and asking them to resend it. I read all of the chat logs. And I'm sure, so has the US Government. There is nothing in them showing Wikileaks did anything any other news person would have done or does on a regular basis, when dealing with a source. .

[msanthrope]

20. I documented this on anothet post. Quite a bit of back-and-forth between

Assange and Manning presented at the Article 32---I broke down the three acts of interaction that the government focused on and charged Manning for....the software insertion, the searches, and the code cracking....





http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=62455

[jeff47]

17. Still not illegal.

If Assange offered money, then you might have a case under the Espionage Act. But he didn't.

If we go back to the Pentagon Papers case, Ellsberg had plenty of contact with the Times before they published the documents, including coordination of delivery - Ellsberg leaked 43 volumes, not a small stack of papers easily handed over.

[sabrina 1]

18. Well, if I were you I would read those logs, they are available online, because I read them

and saw no such thing.

[msanthrope]

21. Which logs? This doesn't concern the Lamo logs, but the "Nathaniel Franks"

ones presented at the artcle 32.

[former-republican]

6. It will all depended on the context of the book

If it can be proven he disclosed classified security in his book he's going down.

Believe me when I say that members of JAG will be reading the book.

[BlueStreak]

7. It is an empty warning if he doesn't enforce the binding agreement in this case.

"If I see another 5 books like this, I'm going to be very angry. And and can assure you , you don't want to make me angry. Yes, if there are 15 more books, I am going to go into action like you wouldn't believe. The author of that 30th book will know he has met his match. I'm not messing around here."

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Well then, will wait for you to bring this service member

back, for the required court martial, and I am dead serious on that. Otherwise, bluster will not help.

[RickFromMN]

10. Criminal prosecution is nothing compared to what some Al Qaeda terrorist will try to do.

Should Matt Bissonnette, or whatever his name is, be allowed in a witness protection like program, whatever the name of the program is that would try to protect him from an Al Qaeda terrorist?

The civilized side of me says we have to protect him even though he did something bad.

The vengeful side of me says let him fend for himself.
See how he likes looking over his shoulder the rest of his life.

[jberryhill]

27. His identity can be changed

...and now he has a reason for wanting that.

The government's interest in non-disclosure and his interest in a new identity seem, to me, to be the basis for a deal.

[IndyJones]

29. I was pretty shocked to see that Fox News outted him for that very reason.

How did they find out? Seems like they got that info very quickly.

[AsahinaKimi]

11. I want them to go after FOX NEWS...

They outed the author, and got him listed on every al qaeda assassin's hit list. Go after Fox News Corporation, and bring it down, please, oh please.

[KG]

16. don't hold your breath, fox is a propaganda outlet for the MIC.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

25. What Fox did was loathesome

But if they didn't break any laws, then there isn't anything that can be done, other than continuing to try to discredit them as a news outlet.

[Gabi Hayes]

22. YOU! Are a BLABbermouth!!!!

[DeSwiss]

23. Cover up your illegal sh*t all you want sucker, it's all still coming out in the wash. n/t

[Skip Intro]

24. I don't see any accusation this former SEAL has broken that contract.

If the former SEAL broke the law, he should face the consequences.

If he didn't, he shouldn't be threatened for using his right of free speech to say whatever the hell he wants to, short of breaking a law.

[summerschild]

26. He wrote it under a psuedonym and clearly put his own life in danger

when a faux journalist at faux news ratted him out. He put his own life in danger regardless of whether classified info was revealed.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-57500137-503543/al-qaeda-calls-for-death-of-navy-seal-who-authored-book-on-bin-laden-mission/

Freedom of speech isn't the same as for ordinary citizens for these guys. People in sensitive positions must have publications approved by the Pentagon, I believe.

I feel bad for the guy - I admire these people so much - but it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do.

The faux journalist on the other hand is scott-free. I just hope the admiral reams him and Fox News out PUBLICLY and demands an apology from Fox ON FOX!

[Skip Intro]

28. Meh. Did he break a law or contract, or not?

His outing is a real outrage, too. Wow. Fox News should really pay for that. Dumbasses. AP too.

[summerschild]

30. He discussed their highly secretive work. He put his own safety in jeopardy.

Last edited Sun Aug 26, 2012, 04:35 PM - Edit history (2)

At this point we don't know if the book also gives clues about others' identities, or if 'classified' info is in it.

"McRaven, the former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, reminded fellow members of the special-operations community reminding them that they signed binding documents designed to keep them from discussing their highly secretive work."

“If the U.S. Special Operations Command finds that an active-duty, retired or former service member violated that agreement and that exposure of information was detrimental to the safety of U.S. forces, then we will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate.”

I'm sure not a lawyer, but to me, looks like he did break the contract.

And I agree Fox should be publicly demeaned - but that "right to free speech" may prevent more than public embarassment.