Senate panel drops ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ investigation

The Senate Intelligence Committee is no longer investigating “Zero Dark Thirty” and its filmmakers’ contacts with CIA officials, according to a report.

Reuters reported that the panel had concluded its investigation and is taking no further action after speaking with the CIA, citing an unnamed aide.

According to the aide, CIA officials said they did not tell the filmmakers that “enhanced interrogation” helped lead to Osama bin Laden.

Senate Intelligence Committee spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment on the report.

But the reported end of the investigation comes after the movie failed to win the “Best Picture” Oscar; some said the film’s Oscar hopes were hampered by the controversy in the Senate surrounding the film.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote to Sony Pictures in December complaining that the movie implied torture helped to track down bin Laden.

They said this was false, citing a still-classified committee report on the Bush-era enhanced interrogation program.

The Intelligence panel then said it was starting the investigation into contact between filmmakers and CIA officials.

Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal have defended the way the film depicts torture, saying those scenes were necessary because it is part of the history.

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