Monthly Archives: June 2014

Edward Snowden’s leaks prompt two movies – Jun. 2, 2014

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Edward Snowden's story: coming to a theater near you?

San Jose, Calif. (CNNMoney)

It's very possible, now that Oliver Stone has announced that he is writing a Snowden screenplay based on the book "The Snowden Files," published earlier this year by the Guardian reporter Luke Harding.

Stone and his producing partner Moritz Borman announced their plans -- and said Borman is "fast-tracking" the project -- in a press release on Monday.

The announcement comes on the heels of Sony Pictures Entertainment's acquisition of the rights to another book about the leaks: Glenn Greenwald's "No Place to Hide." Two well-known producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, are attached to that project.

Heightening the competition between the two projects, Greenwald has been publicly critical of Harding's book.

Greenwald's original stories based on Snowden's secret documents were published by the Guardian last June. Greenwald left the Guardian a few months later for a journalism startup called The Intercept.

Stone and Borman said Monday that Harding and others still at the Guardian "will also act as exclusive production and story consultants."

"This is one of the greatest stories of our time. A real challenge," Stone said in a statement. "I'm glad to have the Guardian working with us."

We'll see which, if either, film makes it into theaters.

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Edward Snowden's leaks prompt two movies - Jun. 2, 2014

After Edward Snowden interview, many doubts from former …

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Michael Hayden, the former director of both the CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) said that Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who leaked a massive number of secret documents to the media didn't have "the ring of total truth" in a recent interview he gave to NBC News.

In that interview, Snowden said he "trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word, in that I lived and worked undercover overseas" and denied that he was a low-level hacker.

Hayden maintains that Snowden caused "unquestionable irreparable, irreversible harm" to the U.S. with the information he revealed. He said some revelations, such as the NSA's practice of collecting metadata on Americans' phone calls, revealed programs that do "impinge upon American privacy" and merit a debate.

But other information that Snowden's documents revealed, like the extent of the U.S. ability to spy on foreign nations, was damaging, he said.

"If he lives up to half of that resume he claimed to have, that he was actually a spy and an intelligence officer, he would understand that there is no way the United States can reveal, without creating far greater harm, what it is we have lost," Hayden said in an interview with "Face the Nation." "What is it that he wants us to do? To go out publicly with a list of all the terrorist targets now that we're no longer covering because of the information that he's revealed?"

Hayden also cast doubt upon Snowden's claims that he has "no relationship" with the Russian government and destroyed all classified materials before traveling from Hong Kong to Moscow.

The former NSA director said he wanted to know what Snowden brought with him to Hong Kong and what happened to it. He also said that "of course" Snowden had contact with the Russian government, because "any responsible security service is going to be all over this guy."

He also has questions about why Snowden asked Russian President Vladimir Putin questions on a television show, including, "Whose idea was that? Who arranged that? Why did you do that? What were you thinking when you agree to do that kind of thing for Putin?"

In the NBC interview, Snowden said he is still interested in coming back to the United States, and that the possibility of amnesty or clemency for him is "a debate for the public and the government to decide." Hayden - who still calls Snowden a "defector" rather than a "traitor because of the narrow, legal definition" - is among those who believes he should not receive a pardon because of the volume of highly confidential information he released.

"He certainly betrayed the workforce of which he was a part. He betrayed his oath. And in some ways, betrayed his country," Hayden said.

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A true whistleblower doesn’t behave like Edward Snowden …

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By Walter Pincus June 2

Edward Snowden may have created a paper trail that he could later use to say he brought his questioning of National Security Agency activities to higher authorities.

That at least appears to be the case from the short April 5, 2013, e-mail the then-contractor sent to the NSA general counsels office inquiring about the hierarchy of legal authorities executive orders vs. statutes after a mandatory NSA training session.

Government officials released the e-mail Thursday.

Snowdens missive offered no criticism. The general counsels answer, three days later, said that executive orders have the force of law but cannot override a statute. Snowden was invited to call if he wanted to discuss the issue further.

He didnt, apparently.

At an April 18, 2013, meeting with then-Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald, filmmaker Laura Poitras described e-mails shed received weeks before from Snowden (who was not disclosing his identity at the time) saying he would be providing documents to her within four to six weeks, according to Greenwalds book, No Place to Hide.

Snowden claimed during an NBC interview with Brian Williams on Wednesday that hed tried to be a whistleblower and had complained through official channels before turning to journalists.

He said there were e-mails to the general counsel and oversight and compliance folks and added, I reported that there were real problems with the way the NSA was interpreting its legal authorities. And the response more or less in bureaucratic language was you should stop asking questions.

In response, the government released the April 5 e-mail.

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A true whistleblower doesn’t behave like Edward Snowden ...