Long Island Rep. Peter King tells NBC New York he has viewed the photos taken of Osama bin Laden just after the terror mastermind was killed and says the person in the images is "definitely" him.
King said in a phone interview that he viewed six or seven images at CIA headquarters in Virginia Friday morning. King said he saw a "severe wound" above bin Laden's left eye, and part of his head and skull were missing.
"He's definitely dead," said the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
The White House, after initially indicating the photos would be released, said last week the president had decided not to show them publicly.
"This is not who we are," Obama said. "We don't trot this stuff out as trophies."
King said that while he isn't challenging the president about that decision, he didn't find the photos "particularly ghoulish."
"I think there's some photos that could be released without shocking people," King said. "But again, the president does have to take into account the impact it would have around the world."
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King said he believes the photos should be available to people who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks and bombings of the USS Cole and embassies in Africa.
"Some would get a sense of closure, others wouldn't," he said. "I think there should be some accommodation made for them."
