Matt Bissonnette, a former member of Navy SEAL Team 6 who wrote an account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, agreed on Friday to forfeit $6.8 million in book royalties and speaking fees and apologized for failing to clear his disclosures with the Pentagon, according to federal court documents.
Mr. Bissonnette also recently forfeited $180,000 in fees for consulting work that he did for military contractors while he was still on the SEAL team, his lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, said in an interview.
If approved by a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., the royalty settlement would bring an end to more than two years of civil and criminal investigations into Mr. Bissonnette, who won awards for valor in Iraq and Afghanistan before writing “No Easy Day,” his best-selling book on the Bin Laden raid, under the pen name Mark Owen.
The firsthand account of the daring raid was one of several high-profile books and movies involving former Navy SEALS that has led to criticismwithin a community once known for discretion that Mr. Bissonnette and the others were cashing in on their exploits.
The Justice Department conducted criminal investigations into whether Mr. Bissonnette had disclosed classified information in his book or speeches and whether he had violated conflict-of-interest laws in consulting for companies that had contracts with SEAL Team 6. In the end, the department did not bring any criminal charges, settling instead for the cash forfeitures.
Mr. Bissonnette said in a statement Friday that he regretted his failure to submit “No Easy Day” for vetting before it was published in 2012 so Pentagon officials could ensure that it did not include classified information. Mr. Bissonnette acknowledged that he was required under his security clearances to let the Pentagon review the book, and he blamed another lawyer for advising him that he did not need to do so.
“I acknowledge my mistake and have paid a stiff price, both personally and financially, for that error,” he said. “I accept responsibility for failing to submit the book for review and apologize sincerely for my oversight.”
Documents filed in Federal District Court in Alexandria on Friday indicated that Mr. Bissonnette must transfer nearly $6.8 million to the government as part of the settlement. The amount includes all of the $6.7 million in royalties he has earned on “No Easy Day,” as well as $100,000 in fees for six speeches he gave in early 2013 before the government approved the slides he used in such presentations.
Mr. Bissonnette wrote in “No Easy Day” that he was one of the SEALs who shot Bin Laden, and he and Robert O’Neill, another former SEAL Team 6 member who claims his shots were the fatal ones, have competed on the lecture circuit. Military officials said that Mr. O’Neill is writing a book of his own and has asked the Pentagon to vet it.
While Mr. Bissonnette’s fight with the Pentagon over his book has received public attention, some details of his consulting work while he was still a SEAL Team 6 member, as well as the forfeiture of his fees, have not previously been disclosed.
Mr. Luskin said that Mr. Bissonnette and the federal authorities reached a “nonprosecution agreement” in May in which Mr. Bissonnette forfeited $180,000 in fees for advising three equipment manufacturers who were doing business with SEAL Team 6 while he was on the team.
Mr. Luskin said the fees dated back as far as 2006, when Mr. Bissonnette was the research and development representative for his squadron within Team 6. Other former SEAL members have said that his job was to figure out what types of equipment they needed.
Mr. Luskin said that the $180,000 came from Ops-Core, a helmet maker now owned by the Gentex Corporation in Carbondale, Pa., and two tactical-gear manufacturers based in Virginia Beach — S&S Precision and London Bridge Trading.
No executives at the three companies were available for comment.
Mr. Luskin said that Mr. Bissonnette and other SEAL members also received consulting fees from companies that designed tactical clothing and gear for other parts of the military or for sales to outdoor enthusiasts.
Mr. Bissonnette has maintained that he cleared the consulting work in advance with a Navy lawyer, and Mr. Luskin said that helped persuade prosecutors that “there was clearly on Matt’s part no intent to breach the conflict-of-interest laws.” Navy officials say they have restricted such moonlighting since then.
Mr. Luskin also noted that a number of high-level officials have assisted other authors writing about the Bin Laden raid as well as the creators of the movie “Zero Dark Thirty.” But, he said, only Mr. Bissonnette has paid any penalties for the disclosures.
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