Publisher of SEAL bin Laden book defies Pentagon, set to start sales
Source: Agencies |
September 2, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE publisher of an insider account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden said on Friday it will begin public sales this week despite a Pentagon warning of possible legal action against the book's author and unspecified associates.
Before the Pentagon's warning, the publisher had moved up publication to September 4 (Tuesday) from September 11, saying that it was "important to put 'No Easy Day' on sale and let the book speak for itself."
"At this time, we see no reason to change our plans," Christine Ball, a spokeswoman for the publisher, Penguin Group (USA)'s Dutton imprint, said in a statement.
Pre-orders for the book have catapulted it to No. 1 on Amazon's best-seller list, displacing the erotic trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey." An initial print run of 200,000 has been increased to 575,000 copies.
It was highly unlikely that the government would try to halt publication of the book itself, considering that a limited number of advance copies are already in the public domain and media reports have summarized the book's contents.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said the book's author, ex-SEAL Matt Bissonnette, was in violation of two nondisclosure agreements that he signed in 2007 by failing to submit the book for an official security review before it was published. Bissonnette's lawyer disputed this on Friday, saying he believes the decorated former SEAL has "earned the right to tell his story."
Little would not say what legal options the Pentagon is considering or when it might take action. Little suggested that the Pentagon might be satisfied if Bissonnette were to stop the book's official release.
Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer, notified Bissonnette on Thursday that the Pentagon believes he is in "material breach and violation" of two nondisclosure agreements and of a related document he signed upon leaving active duty in April 2012.
The Justice Department could go after the profits of the book in a civil proceeding. Department spokesman Dean Boyd declined any comment on the book on Friday.
Before the Pentagon's warning, the publisher had moved up publication to September 4 (Tuesday) from September 11, saying that it was "important to put 'No Easy Day' on sale and let the book speak for itself."
"At this time, we see no reason to change our plans," Christine Ball, a spokeswoman for the publisher, Penguin Group (USA)'s Dutton imprint, said in a statement.
Pre-orders for the book have catapulted it to No. 1 on Amazon's best-seller list, displacing the erotic trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey." An initial print run of 200,000 has been increased to 575,000 copies.
It was highly unlikely that the government would try to halt publication of the book itself, considering that a limited number of advance copies are already in the public domain and media reports have summarized the book's contents.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said the book's author, ex-SEAL Matt Bissonnette, was in violation of two nondisclosure agreements that he signed in 2007 by failing to submit the book for an official security review before it was published. Bissonnette's lawyer disputed this on Friday, saying he believes the decorated former SEAL has "earned the right to tell his story."
Little would not say what legal options the Pentagon is considering or when it might take action. Little suggested that the Pentagon might be satisfied if Bissonnette were to stop the book's official release.
Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer, notified Bissonnette on Thursday that the Pentagon believes he is in "material breach and violation" of two nondisclosure agreements and of a related document he signed upon leaving active duty in April 2012.
The Justice Department could go after the profits of the book in a civil proceeding. Department spokesman Dean Boyd declined any comment on the book on Friday.
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