- The Washington Times - Thursday, December 18, 2014

The White House acknowledged Thursday that Obama administration officials screened a rough cut of the Sony Pictures movie that spawned a cyberattack, and they raised no objections to the film depicting the assassination of North Korea’s leader.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said officials from the State Department viewed “The Interview” last summer, but there was “certainly nothing that was dictated by the administration” as far as changes to the film.

Internal Sony emails that were hacked, allegedly by agents working for North Korea, showed that Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human-rights issues, helped to consult on the film. Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, also was involved with Sony executives during the film’s production but has denied having any direct influence on the content.

Sony has canceled the Christmas Day release of the $42 million film after the cyber attacks and threats of violence at theaters that would show the movie.

• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.

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