. >>> is esquire a mesquire?called magazine is being criticized over a central part of its story on the navy seal who killed osama bin laden. they claimed the shooter received no health care after leaving the the service, but as stars and stripes first pointed out he is covered by the department of veteran affairs. the 16-year vet just discovered he could receive a pension after 20 years of service doesn't ring true either. according to the editor, his complaints about the story missed the real point. they respond, quote, the piece argues that ultimately because of the services rendered to the country and the sacrifices dend ma -- demanded of them should be considered and treated separate and apart from all other veterans once they come home. that's a great discussion to have, but as noted on tuesday, the original esquire piece makes no argument. the war on veapped -- on valentine's day continues to be ignored. >> happy valentine's day teddy bear. no, don't eat the roses. >> my wife does that every year. >> i giv

in fact, it was already printed in esquire.at i had in my hands last monday had it in it, too. but apparently the "esquire" site digital version did not have that language in it. megan was just noting that in her stars and stripes story. "esquire" came out strongly saying, you got it wrong. it's in there. but turns out not to be in the version she read. >> there's no space limitations on the internet and also the question of him not having a pension, but he was told, apparently, that you only get a pension if you stay in 20 years and he stayed in 16. "esquire" man a correction, five-year health care benefit. larger point that this undercut your premise a bit, even though this former navy s.e.a.l. is having some financial problems, that he was screwed, as you put it. >> well, look, the fact is that the larger story was accurate. you know, i still, we could sit here and debate forever whether the insurance, the care that the v.a. provides for the vet, not for his family is comprehensive. is it more service related? which is what

it seemed to me esquire was a little misleading.eel there is a need for that. >> the system is bad enough on its own. >> it seemed like they had enough material to work with that they didn't have to exaggerate it. >> 20 years seems like a longtime. >> it is 20 years -- >> that is industry standard for cops and firefighters. it is 20 years. it is a government service. >> they have ways to scale it down. say you are overseas and all of that overseas time it accelerates. >> how about you shoot osama bin laden in the face and get credit for five years of service. >> that's very valid. >> and he has 21 years. >> most of the time you are hiding under a desk. >> that's exactly right. >> how many times did i soil myself? >> you are doing it right now. make sure you don't pan down. >> i want to give you the last word. as a veteran of the war on christmas -- >> two turtle doves, three french hens and a bucket full of valtrex. i will at tell you, being a veteran of war gets you a lot of tail. >> does it? do you have a video of your animal doin

esquire contributor phil braunstein spent more than a year getting to know him. his name remains a secret for his own safety and his families. he was obviously a member of the s.e.a.l. team 6. after the bin laden mission, he retired to no pension, no benefits, and no security. phil braunstein joins me tonight with more. your article is fascinating not only for the details it has about the raid that killed bin laden, but also what this navy s.e.a.l. is nation once he leaves. i didn't realize he wasn't eligible for v.a. benefits for the rest of his life. >> well, he's not. he's eligible for one thing. that is, the v.a. has five years of free medical care for the vet. not for the family. it's care, not insurance. the fact is a huge number of people including the shooter don't know it exists because the dod does a very poor job of letting them know. >> but this navy s.e.a.l. who has had this incredible career leaves with no pension, no health insurance. and not for his family. >> no health insurance, certainly, for himself and his family. and no protection, which is

that article in "esquire" was, certainly, among one of the most humiliat humiliating. i immediately decide to withdraw and never leave my house again. then alternately decide to fight. >> your original assumption is steinem, indeed all women, could not succeed on the basis of simple talent, intelligence, ambition, and hard work. esquire indulged in the cheapest kind of kiss-an-tell journalism. >> i remember the press conference, i especially remember flo kennedy, a great defender to have, funny, outrageous. >> after you do something that we do not like in the media, you know, we take care of whatever part of your anatomy seems to need taking care of. >> i finally read the "esquire" article. the issue was very much larger than one small article. the issue is, the whole way in which nonestablishment people are treated in the press. as a member of it, i feel very responsible for it. >> the "esquire" article made me cry because it was just so wrong and cruel, really. i realized as a journalist that there really was nothing for women to read that was controlled by women, an

esquire simply calls him "the shooter." and says he fired the shots that killed bin laden. >> "he was very unused to this idea of shooting up, so he wasn't prepared for somebody quite as tall, bin laden was much taller that he expected, so he talks about having to aim his gun up." >> reporter: the shooter says after his point man shot and missed from the 2nd level, both men climbed the stairs to bin laden's bedroom. as the point man peeled off in the hallway to subdue two of bin laden's screaming wives, the shooter entered the room. 'there was bin laden standing there. he had his hands on a woman's shoulders, pushing her ahead. not exactly toward me, but by me.maybe as a shield, i don't know. he's got a gun on a shelf right there, the short ak he's famous for.' >> "he shot him in the forehead and another time in the forehead as he was going down and then a third time in the forehead when he was at the foot of his bed obviously probably already dead." >> reporter: but that account conflicts with another seal on the raid, who

he spoke to esquire magazine referring to him only as the shooter. news has no way to confirm the details of this story but the shooter telling esquire that when he confronted bin laden in that bedroom in abbottabad pakistan. taller than he thought he he continued by saying this. in that second i shot him two times in the forehead. the second time as he is going down he crump would on to the floor and i hit him again. he was dead, not moving. his tuck was out. i watched him take his lated breaths, just to a reflex breath. he said he gave the magazine from his gun to the cia analyst who had made it her mission to find bin laden. the magazine had only three bullets missing. the ones in bin laden's head. the shooter says he has since left the seals and now he says he doesn't know what he is going to do. he says the government has given him nothing. no protection for himself or his family. he tells esquire that he has changed first sign of trouble and his wife how to handle a shotgun. he said the command wants protection. give him a job driving a beer tr

he was interviewed by the former san francisco chronicle editor and komodo dragon victim for "esquire." the shooter to protect his identity retired after 16 years, four years short of a pension. he refuses to cash in on his fame due to the seal code of the quiet professional. in fear of terrorist reprisals he found his only employment option was more guns and overseas deployment as a security contractor, but he is done with that lifestyle. he recalls the day he killed the man responsible for 9-1-1. "i remember as i watched him breathe out the last part of air i thought, is this the best thing i have ever done or the worst thing i have ever done? ". it was the best. the editor seemed pleased by the piece. >> ever since he got the rogain his hair is coming back. hue can seal -- how can seal, the musician, be allowed to marry and divorce heidi cliewm, but -- heidi klum, but this seal be ignored and treated so poorly. >> it is really bad. the deal was he was apparently served 16 years and just shy of the 20 years, but the guy has scar tissue and tendonitis and blown disks and he doesn't g

hence the title of "esquire's" interview with him. quote, the man who killed osama bin laden -- dot dot dot -- is screwed. when he leaves after 16 years in the navy, his body filled with scar tissue, tendinitis, blown disc, here is what he gets from his employer and a grateful nation. nothing. no pension and health care for his wife and kids, no protection for himself and his family. once the story was published there was some controversy about whether "esquire" made a factual error when they described his benefits. it turns out he is entitled to benefits for five years, but none for his family. they clarified that. like many vets, he will have to wait at least eight months to have his disability claims adjudicated. the national wait time nationally is more than nine months. the center for investigative reporting analyzed the wait times for 58 veterans affairs offices across the country. they made this interactive map with the data that they found. what they discovered was that many vets are waiting way longer than that nine-month nat

>>> nbc officially branded the network the esquire network.ward the upwardly mobile and highly engaged man. actor don johnson who starred in "gnash bridges" is $19 million richer. he settled a pay dispute with the show's producers claiming he was entitled to 50% of the profits even though it went off the air years ago. >>> top gear released footage showing a corvette racing a cobra helicopter with a zrast us are ending. the chopper loses control and smashes into the crowned with some crew members garly getting out of the way. thankfully, no one was injured. >>> a big grammy win was notable for more than one reason. in a blinking you'll miss it moment, a man crashed the stage during her a

>>> nbc officially branded the network the esquire network.ward the upwardly mobile and highly engaged man. actor don johnson who starred in "gnash bridges" is $19 million richer. he settled a pay dispute with the show's producers claiming he was entitled to 50% of the profits even though it went off the air years ago. >>> top gear released footage showing a corvette racing a cobra helicopter with a zrast us are ending. the chopper loses control and smashes into the crowned with some crew members garly getting out of the way. thankfully, no one was injured. >>> a big grammy win was notable for more than one reason. in a blinking you'll miss it moment, a man crashed the stage during her acceptance speech and j lo gives the crasher one heck of a look and then the universal sign for get out of here. the man who is a ukrainian tv personality was arrested backstage for trespassing. don't mess with jenny from the block. >>> and 28.4 million viewers tuned n the second highest audience in 20 years. >> it was a good show. >> it's getting good reviews.

that article in "esquire" was, certainly, among one of the most humiliat humiliating. i immediately decide to withdraw and never leave my house again. then alternately decide to fight. >> your original assumption is steinem, indeed all women, could not succeed on the basis of simple talent, intelligence, ambition, and hard work. esquire indulged in the cheapest kind of kiss-an-tell journalism. >> i remember the press conference, i especially remember flo kennedy, a great defender to have, funny, outrageous. >> after you do something that we do not like in the media, you know, we take care of whatever part of your anatomy seems to need taking care of. >> i finally read the "esquire" article. the issue was very much larger than one small article. the issue is, the whole way in which nonestablishment people are treated in the press. as a member of it, i feel very responsible for it. >> the "esquire" article made me cry because it was just so wrong and cruel, really. i realized as a journalist that there really was nothing for women to read that was controlled by women, an

mean you know i mean less summer you know i wrote a ten thousand word story on the this issue for esquire and got into some of these questions and there's but there really is i mean is there so many of them that we can just i mean start with the question of whether when the united states government kills americans. what last year the. government not only killed on moral locky the reputed ok leader. it also killed two weeks later it killed his son a lackey it has to some degree justified itself when it comes to and we're all a lackey it has never said anything about the killing. and about the gun he was sixteen years old he was not connected with terrorism he was in yemen apparently on a search for his father when he was killed he was an american citizen and yet the. white house has basically said nothing about him i know that there's been some some talk about that it was a mistake that it was collateral damage but there has been no information whatsoever on the nature of been ition. fatal to an american citizen so i think that you know that there's a there's so many questions to be asked

he is referred to only as the shooter in an interview just published by esquire magazine.e get a breath taking account of what happened that night in pakistan. he says the second he sabine laud he knew the seal had their man. he acted quickly he says before bin laden could reach for his gun. in that second i shot him. two times in the forehead, the second time as he is going down. he crumbled on to the floor in front of his bed and i hit him again. bap. same place. he was dead. not moving. but the man who bravely served our country and heroically killed the leader of al qaeda is now struggling just to survive. the shooter retired about 36 months before meeting the 20-years of service. so he is without an income because he doesn't qualify for his pension. he is struggling to find a job pay his bills and put food on his table. he does not have healthcare has to wait months on disability claims. the shooter and his wife officially separated. he and his wife and children living in constant fear they say they are considering changing their names and removing references to the s

i want to read you something fromet desire -- esquire magazine article, i know have you questions about the reporting, what is much harder to understand, is a man with more than a hundred successful war missions who capped his career by terminating bin laden has nolanding pad in civilian life, nothing, no pension, no health care, no protection for himself or his family. and this story, this long story, interviews him at length he talks about how he has no health care, no pe pension, he was in service for 16 years, admittedly he left early but now nothing. what do you make of that? >> well, i tell you, i read the whole story it is gripping and a powerful depiction of the difficulty of transition into civilian life this guy put two bullets in head of osama bin laden. now he is transitioning into civilian life and looking at the difficult -- amongst elite soldiers, navy seals their lives have been classified as secret missions, now his life would be threatened if his name is known, a whole other set of circumstances. gerri: this is the guy that president described as the best of the best?

. >> i personally through there is a motive why he would talk to "esquire." it comes off as a bit of whining, so to speak. i think the shooter had a motive to talk to "esquire." he got a little more than he bargained for. i doubt he wanted it to be framed up the way it did. the issue that is important is there is a problem in the military where we have probably one of the largest transition periods since vietnam. we have veterans coming back and transitioning from active duty to civilian life. there is plenty of opportunities at the veteran affairs level, the transition process is a one-week of half day classes to prepare you to go back to civilian life. a lot of guys that need help are falling through the cracks. >> you can imagine. what about things like health insurance? there is a discussion how he had health insurance. one that could help bridge that gap before he had to take it on himself. it was blue shield or something insurance. they don't offer that? >> the thing people need to know about this particular person is that he could have stayed four year

. >> we did an esquire shoot.d and got that out in the magazines. that helped. >> that helped? >> yeah, i guess. that's why i hire professionals. >> reporter: she was cast in "x-men first class" requiring layer upon layer of blue paint to be applied each shooting day. >> i have no modesty. i was standing or sitting while seven women painted me everywhere b everywhere and it was horrible. >> reporter: the fans of "the hunger game" she is the heroine of what will be a trilogy. she almost didn't do it. >> because of "twilight" i knew what to expect. the "twilight" actors didn't know what they were getting into it. i had this imaginary made up future of myself where i would raise a normal family. i couldn't see that future if i said yes to these movies. but i never once regretted saying yes. >> reporter: a 4$400 million blw out the door smash reformed the lives of her loved ones. >> she texts me every night. >> reporter: we don't see you get carried home from a club in this neighborhood? >> you will never see that. i

that's a gray question that esquire magazine tackled. now from the center joins us. he's written extensively about this as well. first, thanks for being on. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> cenk: all right now i want to quote from the "esquire" piece and get your reaction. the shooter will discover after he leaves after 16 years in the navy, they say his body filled with dark tissue, arthritis tendinitis here's what he gets from his builder and a grateful nation: ,nothing. that seems unbelievable. is that true and why. >> what happened to this navy seal is the same thing that is happening to hundreds of% thousands of others veterans who served in afghanistan. even though he shot bin-laden he got no special treatment. he was put into this same horrible bureaucratic mess that is grieving the rest 2.4 americans who served in iraq and afghanistan. he put his disability claim in with the department of veteran affairs that you just mentioned now he's sitting and waiting for his benefits. there are 900,000 veterans waiting for their benefits. and shortly after he filed

he tells esquire magazine he was denied health coverage after the service. and the navy told him reportedly you're out of coverage, go blank yourself. they tell the stars and stripes that veterans are eligible for free health care through the v.a. >>> an american hound, a bichon and the best of the sporting groups will be picked tonight. >>> we'll see what the mood is like on the street today ahead of the president's state of the union address. apple ceo fred cook will have are a front row seat. cook has a big speech of his own at a tech conference where he'll likely be bombarded with questions. >>> british bark barclays is slashing 3700 jobs from its corporate arms. on the earnings deck keep an eye on michael kors. >>> whiskey connoisseurs be wear. it's being watered down from 45% to 42% alcohol. >>> and limited time deals to include free shipping and registration is required. if you haven't checked your credit report lately it could be costing you. a government report finds one in five people have credit errors on a credit report. >>> good news for homeown

what's new in the esquire story was essentially this guy's perspective. >> was he saying to you whenid he say look, i can't talk about this because it's classified? was he aware of that? did he make that clear to you? >> yeah. i mean it was an evolution. an evolution that took place over about a year and a quarter where he wanted to talk about it but he really wanted to talk about this larger issue of how these guys are treated once they leave the service. he left at 16 years, four shy of the 20 for retirement. so he got no pension, no health care for his family, and no protection. if his name comes out, which it very well might, he cowl be a serious target. >> oh, yeah. do you think the pentagon is putting this out there that they're at least looking into whether it's investigating or whatever looking into the esquire article for possible violations, do you think they're trying to punish him? >> well, i think there is a kind of brotherhood about particularly s.e.a.l. team six but i think all special forces. and i think that the ethos of it is you don't talk about what you do. the pr

esquire, is still trying to do what his daddy did, and that's rob us from the right to vote. >> james crowe jr. esquire, msnbc's reverend al sharpton speaking on the steps this morning, advocating that the supreme court leave the act alone, arguing there is still need in this country for protection it offers. when i got to the supreme court this morning to go inside and listen to the case, the first sign that i saw at the protest on the steps when i arrived was this one. i think we've got one shot of it. yeah. it says "martyrs". and the names there are scharner, james chaney, goodman. we remember them as the civil rights workers murdered in philadelphia in 1964. what we remember about them particularly today is that what they were doing in philadelphia and mississippi, what they were risking their lives for, and what they ultimately gave their lives for specifically was voting rights in messy. they were registering people to vote, registering african-americans to vote as part of an effort called the mississippi freedom summer. and they died for it. the man who coordinated mississippi

. >> we did an esquire shoot.a bikini and pranced around and got that out in the magazines. that helped. >> that helped? >> yeah. >> prancing like that, doing that sort of -- >> i guess. that's why i hire professionals. >> reporter: she was drop-dead gorgeous enough to be cast in "x-men: first class." requiring layer upon layer of blue paint to be applied each shooting day. >> i have no modesty. i was standing or sitting while seven women painted me everywhere and it was horrible. but i can't wait to go back. >> reporter: the fans of "the hunger games," lawrence's indomitable, emotionally torn character of what will be a movie trilogy. yet after being cast in the role she nearly didn't do it. >> because of the size of it. and because of "twilight." i knew what to expect. i think the poor "twilight" actors had no idea what they were getting themselves into. i was afraid of my life changing. i had a wonderful life. i had this imaginary made up future of myself where i would be a soccer mom, driving a minivan, raise

. >> if you're in line at the grocery store tomorrow you'll probably see the story on esquire magazine you'll seethe story of a man who shot osama bin lad den. we'll alsolearn why this hero is struggling with no job, no health care and no military mention. >> the military says it is expanding the list of benefits allowed to gay military members. now they'll be allowed some of the same benefits as those of married individuals. leonpinetta says federal law limits some benefits. >> in our consumer alert here tonight, the better business bureau has a warning for people looking for love on line. theysay be ware of sweetheart scams. one technique is the fake military man. the bbb says scammers claiming to be military members over saes build an emotional relationship with somebody online and then they start asking for money. theyrecommend not waiting too long to meet someone face to face. >> manufacturers have been slowly cutting the salt out of your favorite food. the sodiumcontent in many foods is dropping due to that new york city led effort to lighten up on salt. restaurants andmanufactur

in the march edition of "esquire," the former navy s.e.a.l.es chilling details from counting back and forth to a thousand which he did during the 90 minute helicopter ride to abbottabad, and then thinking about a quote from george bush's speech. then storming bin laden's compound and walking through the dark hallway to the third floor. the navy s.e.a.l. says, quote, he looked confused and way taller than he was expecting. he's got a gun within reach and he's a threat. in that second i shot him in the forehead. bap, bap. the second time as he was going down. he crumples onto the floor in front of his bed, and i hit him again, bap. he talks about living in constant fear that his identity could be exposed. with me is phil bronstein, who broke and wrote the story. thank you so much for this. a couple of questions as a journalist and about your trade craft here. how did you find this navy s.e.a.l.? how did you id him yourself, and how did you get him to talk? >> well, the finding him really happened through more of a social contact. we had some mut

is that the new esquire? yeah. turn to page 146. wow! coming out of the shower.ing they gave you that washcloth to cover yourself up. what is this an ad for? see those wrinkled jeans slung over the chair, way in the background, out of focus? aha... how does it look on your side? yeah. oh, yeah... we'll get there. look at this. he's sleeping, and i have to go to the bathroom. maybe he'll wake up soon. what if my kidneys burst? is it worth it not to wake this man up to damage a major organ? i hope this disgusting slob appreciates what i'm doing for him. [snapping gum] yeah, make a little more noise with your gum. that's helpful. they're not here. you cost me 50 bucks. you run like a girl. run like a man. lift your knees. we're wasting our time here. we're 1/2 hour late. they probably took it off the board already. there it is. "133." and it's canceled. canceled? do i still get credit for the pickup? i was here. let's go check. there it is, honey. "gate 18a, 8:30." did you see that guy? no. what guy? he was standing right here. no. go to the ticket counter. i'll go

g-4 cable channel the esquire channel. it's geared to the upwardly mobile highly engaged man like bill. >>> actor don johnson of "miami vice" fame and also starred in cop drama "gnash bridges "is $19 million richer. he settled a pay dispute with the show's producers claiming he was entitled to 50% of the show's profits even though the show went off the air years ago. >> he owes his lawyers a lot. >> 25% of that 50%. >>> popular car show "top gear" has shown a corvette racing a helicopter with the chopper losing control and smashing to the ground. crew members get out of the way. >>> adele's big grammy winner was notable for more than one reason. a man crashed the stage, and j. lo handled it as well as she could. she gave the man the look and, like, get out of here. don't cross j. lo with her leg. >>> grammy scored huge ratings with 28.4 million viewers tuning in, second highest rating in 20 years ago. >>> this comes from denver, colorado, where one 17-year-old's wish for life may have been granted by a special hand. after