Pentagon pushing back against ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ leak allegations

The Pentagon is defending a senior official who was accused of disclosing a restricted name of a special operations officer to the makers of the film “Zero Dark Thirty.”

McClatchy reported Monday that the Pentagon Inspector General had referred the investigation involving Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers to the Justice Department over the alleged disclosure.

But Pentagon press secretary George Little said in a statement issued Tuesday evening that the press reports on Vickers were “unwarranted, unfounded and unfair.”

“Senior special operations officers approved in advance the offer Mr. Vickers made to arrange a potential discussion with a special operations planner — someone who was not part of the bin Laden raid team — but such a meeting never occurred,” Little said.

The McClatchy report noted that while the matter had been referred to the Justice Department, the agency had so far declined to launch a criminal prosecution.

Little said that the DOD Inspector General was still conducting its own pending inquiry.

The allegations against Vickers come as his name is mentioned as a possible candidate for the next CIA director.

House Homeland Security Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the reports over alleged leaks were “quite troubling.”

The DOJ investigation is "an indication that our security ... was, indeed, placed at risk by people who wanted to help Hollywood make a movie," King said in a statement.

---