Washington(CNN) A Navy SEAL who helped kill Osama bin Laden allegedly kept an unauthorized photo of his corpse, The Intercept reported Tuesday.
Matthew Bissonnette turned over a hard drive that contained the photo to U.S. investigators in exchange for an agreement that he wouldn't be prosecuted for unlawfully possessing classified material, according to the The Intercept.
CNN cannot independently confirm this report. Naval Special Warfare Command referred CNN to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and calls to NCIS were not returned.
Bissonnette's lawyer, Robert Luskin, declined to comment to CNN on the contents of The Intercept article, the specifics of the information in question and whether there has been any ongoing contact between the Pentagon and Bissonnette's legal representation.
Bin Laden's death: How the story unfolded
The death of Osama bin Laden
Vice President Joe Biden, left, President Barack Obama, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, second from right, watch the mission to capture Osama bin Laden from the Situation Room in the White House on May 1, 2011. Click through to see reactions from around the world following the death of the al Qaeda leader.
President Obama edits his remarks in the Oval Office prior to making a televised statement announcing bin Laden's death.
Servicemen cheer from a lamp post as thousands of people gather at Ground Zero in New York City.
Crowds celebrate with NYPD officers in New York's Times Square early on May 2, 2011, after the death of Osama bin Laden.
Revelers gather at the fence on the north side of the White House.
Afghans watch television coverage in Kabul announcing the killing of bin Laden.
U.S. Marines watch the announcement of bin Laden's death at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Times Square is filled shortly after the announcement of bin Laden's death.
Students gather to celebrate at the fence on the north side of the White House.
A passer-by looks at newspaper headlines in front of the Newseum in Washington.
Danielle LeMack, left, Carie LeMack and Christie Coombs, who lost relatives on 9/11, pause during a ceremony to honor the victims on May 2, 2011, at the Garden of Remembrance in Boston.
A visitor photographs the fence overlooking the crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 2011.
Pakistani media and residents gather outside the bin Laden hideout on May 3, 2011.
He did, however, tell CNN that previously a "government investigation into alleged mishandling or improper disclosure of classified information by Matthew Bissonnette was closed in August 2015 with a declination."
The federal government has attempted to keep photos of bin Laden's corpse from being made public, fearing that the photos would trigger a backlash.
2014: Admiral's email on photos of bin Laden's corpse: 'Destroy them'
The decision to hand over the hard drive reportedly allowed NCIS and Justice Department investigators to discover records tied to Bissonnette's work as a consultant while also serving as a member of Navy SEAL Team 6.
Bissonnette was a liaison for SEAL Team 6's command to equipment suppliers, The Intercept reported, leading investigators to focus on whether his performance in that role might have been influenced by his business dealings.
Osama bin Laden's compound
Osama bin Laden was killed by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs in May 2011, at a compound near Abbottabad, Pakistan. Click through to see images of the compound where he spent the last days of his life.
The compound where Osama bin Laden was killed is guarded by Pakistani police on May 4, 2011.
A closer view of one of the buildings in the compound is seen on May 7, 2011.
A general view of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, is seen on May 5, 2011.
A demolition crew works to dismantle the compound on February 26, 2012.
A Pakistani woman fills a container with water at the site of the demolished compound on April 25, 2012.
Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai, a Pakistani contractor who worked to dismantle the compound, walks through the rubble left behind from the demolition on May 1, 2012.
Contractor Yusufzai looks at a bathtub left over from the demolition on May 1, 2012.
Children play cricket near the site of the demolished compound.
Whatever happened to the guy who first tweeted about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden?
Bissonnette was a member of the elite SEAL team that participated in the bin Laden raid. While fellow team member Rob O'Neil is widely credited with firing the shot that killed bin Laden, Bissonnette is believed to have also fired rounds that may have hit the former al Qaeda leader.
Bissonnette's 2012 book "No Easy Day" detailed the bin Laden raid and was a departure from typical U.S. Special Operation procedure of maintaining silence about the group's activities.
Bergen: A gripping glimpse into bin Laden's decline and fall