A Navy SEAL who helped kill Osama bin Laden and wrote a book about the raid on the terror leader has handed over more than $4.5 million to the government, The Associated Press reported. The payment is part of a negotiated settlement Matt Bissonnette reached with investigators who accuse him of failing to get the required Pentagon approval before publishing potentially sensitive material.

Bissonnette was a member of SEAL Team 6, which is believed to be the unit involved in the May 2, 2011, "Operation Neptune Spear" that killed Bin Laden. The longtime leader of the terrorist group al-Qaida had been hiding in a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. In the book "No Easy Day," which he released in 2012 using the pen name "Mark Owen," Bissonnette gives a detailed account of the assault.

The former SEAL has said that bad legal advice led him to skip the mandatory Department of Defense review. The omission has since led to a Pentagon inquiry and a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.

Bissonnette is now suing his former attorney, Kevin Podlaski, for $8 million; that sum is the result of lost royalties, consulting jobs, speaking engagements and future employment, he claimed.

"Podlaski claimed to have government clearance that allowed him to review documents for classified information, Owen charges in documents filed in Manhattan Federal Court," according to the New York Daily News. "The task (Podlaski) purported to undertake for the benefit of plaintiff and his writing team was absolutely contrary to law and doomed to failure from the start."

Bissonnette has said he intended to give much of the proceeds of "No Easy Day" to charity, AP reports.

"He was devoted to not disclosing anything he thought could be used by America's enemies. To insure he complied with all his obligations of confidentiality, he sought out legal counsel to advise him," the former SEAL's lawyers say in the lawsuit against Podlaski.

In the meantime, Bissonnette has also completed a sequel titled "No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL," which will be released Nov. 10. This time, the author submitted the tome for Pentagon approval, his lawyer said.

Related