Pentagon looking into Esquire story of SEAL who killed bin Laden

The Pentagon says it's looking into whether the former U.S. Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden disclosed any classified or sensitive information when he gave his story to Esquire.

"This is something we have been looking at and will continue to look at," Dept. of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Warren told reporters during a routine press briefing on Tuesday, according to TheHill.com.

It's unclear whether or not the SEAL is the subject of a formal investigation, or if the Pentagon is merely monitoring the case. Warren would not comment further, according to the report.

[Related: SEAL who shot bin Laden speaks out]

In the interview with Esquire, published earlier this month, the former SEAL—identified as "The Shooter" due to what the magazine described as "safety" reasons—said he's been largely abandoned by the U.S. government since leaving the military last fall.

In the 15,000-word story (“The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden ... Is Screwed”), writer Phil Bronstein states that the SEAL has been given "nothing. ... No pension, no health care, and no protection for himself or his family.”

Those claims were subsequently questioned by the military newspaper Stars & Stripes.

[Also see: Esquire’s SEAL story questioned by military newspaper]

The SEAL also gave his account of the historic raid, including the moment he pulled the trigger and shot bin Laden.

“In that second, I shot him, two times in the forehead," he told Esquire. "Bap! Bap! The second time as he’s going down. He crumpled onto the floor in front of his bed. He was dead. I watched him take his last breaths. And I remember as I watched him breathe out the last part of air, I thought: Is this the best thing I've ever done, or the worst thing I've ever done?

"I'm not religious," he added. "But I always felt I was put on the earth to do something specific. After that mission, I knew what it was."

A spokeswoman for Esquire did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the Pentagon's interest.

In September 2012, Matt Bissonnette, a fellow former member of SEAL Team 6, published a controversial book about the raid, "No Easy Day," under a pen name. The book drew the ire of both his fellow SEALs and the Pentagon, which launched an investigation into whether it contained classified information.