Category Archives: Edward Snowden

Snowden: Obama’s NSA Reform Proposal Is a ‘Turning Point’

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NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks via videoconference at 'Why Didn't a Tech Journalist Break PRISM?' during the 2014 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival on March 10, 2014 in Austin, Texas.

Image: Tammy Perez/Getty Images

By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2014-03-25 21:58:23 UTC

U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal to end the NSA's bulk collection of telephone records has gathered one noteworthy endorser: Edward Snowden.

The whistleblower who leaked top-secret documents exposing NSA surveillance programs released a statement on Tuesday, just after Obama announced plans to end the controversial program that enables the agency to collect Americans' phone records and retain them for five years. For Snowden, Obama's plans are a "turning point" that mark "the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA, and restore the public's seat at the table of government."

"President Obama has now confirmed that these mass surveillance programs, kept secret from the public and defended out of reflex rather than reason, are in fact unnecessary and should be ended," Snowden wrote in a statement published through the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents and advises him.

Here's Snowden's full statement:

I believed that if the NSA's unconstitutional mass surveillance of Americans was known, it would not survive the scrutiny of the courts, the Congress, and the people.

The very first open and adversarial court to ever judge these programs has now declared them 'Orwellian' and 'likely unconstitutional.' In the USA FREEDOM Act, Congress is considering historic, albeit incomplete reforms. And President Obama has now confirmed that these mass surveillance programs, kept secret from the public and defended out of reflex rather than reason, are in fact unnecessary and should be ended.

This is a turning point, and it marks the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA and restore the public's seat at the table of government.

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Snowden: Obama's NSA Reform Proposal Is a 'Turning Point'

Greens want to call Julian Assange and Edward Snowden to parliamentary surveillance inquiry

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Edward Snowden and Julian Assange would not be protected by parliamentary privilege if they give evidence to a Senate committee about what they know about government snooping on Australian citizens, according to advice given to the ABC.

Greens senator Scott Ludlam is trying to have Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, and WikiLeaks founder Assange called before a parliamentary committee to give evidence into what they might know about mass surveillance of Australian citizens.

The move has caused a rift within Labor following the ABC's report that the Opposition was initially open to the idea.

Snowden has been charged with espionage by the Americans for leaking thousands of classified documents which have exposed the spying activities of countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia.

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Attorney-General George Brandis have labelled him a "traitor" for leaking the sensitive information some of which included revelations Australia spied on Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.

Snowden has been granted a temporary visa in Russia since leaking the classified documents.

Mr Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning on sexual assault charges.

It is thought that any successful attempts to have both men give evidence to the Senate's Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee would occur via video link.

If that were to happen, Snowden and Mr Assange would not be protected by privilege as it only applies when witnesses are physically in Australia.

Labor MP Michael Danby said he hoped Snowden and Mr Assange would have revelations about non-Western countries' spying activities to share.

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Greens want to call Julian Assange and Edward Snowden to parliamentary surveillance inquiry

Intel Chairman Sees Snowden Supporting Russia’s Crimea Seizure

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By Tom Curry

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Sunday former National Security Agency contractor and fugitive Edward Snowden is actually supporting in an odd way this very activity of brazen brutality and expansionism of Russia. He needs to understand that. And I think Americans need to understand that.

Rogers, a Michigan Republican, spoke as Russian forces were poised on the border of Ukraine, with Russia having already annexed the Crimea region.

Snowden has revealed details of the NSAs surveillance programs since leaving the United States last May. He eventually ended up in Moscow where President Vladimir Putins government has granted him asylum.

Rogers said on NBCs Meet the Press that Snowden is under the influence of Russian intelligence services today. For the investigators, they need to figure out: When did that influence start? And was he interested in cooperating (with Russian intelligence agencies) earlier than the timeline would suggest?

Federal prosecutors have charged Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and communication of classified information to an unauthorized person.

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First published March 23 2014, 7:20 AM

Tom Curry is a National Affairs writer for NBCNews.com. He began reporting on politics and public policy for NBCNews.com in June 1996, when the site was msnbc.com.

Before joining msnbc.com, Curry worked as a reporter/researcher for Time magazine where he reported on politics, business, social trends, and golf.

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Intel Chairman Sees Snowden Supporting Russia's Crimea Seizure