Category Archives: Edward Snowden

Snowden Says Whistle-Blower Law Gaps Preclude His Return

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Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who exposed secret intelligence programs, said he wont return to the U.S. because of gaps in federal whistle-blower laws that he said would leave him unprotected.

Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia after leaking classified documents on the governments Internet and telephone data spy programs, said Congress needs to broaden the Whistleblower Protection Act so that national security contractors can more easily fight for changes from within the intelligence system.

Returning to the U.S., I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but its unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistle-blower protection laws, Snowden wrote today in an Internet question-and-answer session.

While the authenticity of Snowdens identity couldnt be independently verified, two advocates who have advised Snowden - - Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project and Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union -- said by e-mail they could confirm Snowdens participation.

The session was conducted by the Courage Foundation, which describes itself as a trust formed to help defend journalistic sources such as Snowden, who gave classified National Security Agency documents to media organizations including the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post.

It marked at least the second time that Snowden has used an Internet chat to communicate with the public about his efforts to change U.S. surveillance laws. A similar session was conducted in June on the Guardians website.

Some members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, have called Snowden a traitor for disclosing intelligence programs meant to prevent terrorism.

Snowden today defended his actions as an act of civil disobedience and said hes aware of threats that have been made against his life.

Im not going to be intimidated, he said. Doing the right thing means having no regrets.

Snowden spoke the same day that a U.S. privacy-policy board issued a 238-page report urging the abolition of the bulk collection of Americans phone records. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, created by lawmakers under post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism laws, said the program has provided only minimal help in thwarting terrorist attacks.

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Snowden Says Whistle-Blower Law Gaps Preclude His Return

Russian lawmaker says Snowden asylum period to be extended

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DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. secrets leaker Edward Snowden won't be pressured to leave Russia any time soon, a major Russian lawmaker said Friday.

The comment by parliamentarian Alexy Pushkov comes after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Snowden would not get clemency if he came home, CNN reported.

Pushkov, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russia's lower house, the Duma, said Snowden's year-old asylum would be extended and he wouldn't be sent back to the United States.

The legislator made his remarks during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland.

Holder said Thursday Snowden, who leaked secrets about U.S. and British intelligence gathering he collected while a contractor for the National Security Agency, could come home in a plea deal.

But clemency is out of the question, Holder said.

"We've always indicated ... that the notion of clemency isn't something that we were willing to consider," Holder said at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

"Instead, were he to come back to the United States to enter a plea, we would engage with his lawyers," he said.

"We'd do that with any defendant who wanted to enter a plea of guilty," Holder told the university's non-partisan research institute.

Holder did not indicate if he was open to engaging in negotiations with Snowden while he remained in Russia, beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement.

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Russian lawmaker says Snowden asylum period to be extended

Snowden says mass collection must end

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The Guardian via AP, file

By Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose leaks revealed previously classified information about the extent of U.S. surveillance practices, made an argument for the end of mass data collection Thursday but said not all spying is bad.

The comments emerged from a live chat held on the freesnowden.is website Thursday.

Questions were submitted on Twitter using the #AskSnowden hashtag. The website hosting the Q&A wrote Snowden was "expected to give his first reaction" to President Barack Obama's national security speech last week, in which the president announced a series of proposals that would reduce some of the latitude given to the NSA in the name of homeland security.

In reply to a question regarding the timing of Obama's speech last week, Snowden yet again attacked the NSA's mass collection practices, indicating they are illegal and should be ended.

"When even the federal government says the NSA violated the constitution at least 120 million times under a single program, but failed to discover even a single 'plot,' its time to end 'bulk collection,' which is a euphemism for mass surveillance," he wrote. "There is simply no justification for continuing an unconstitutional policy with a 0% success rate."

However, Snowden explained that while he takes issue with "indiscriminate mass surveillance," not all intelligence collection practices are bad.

"Not all spying is bad," Snowden wrote, adding: "The NSA and the rest of the U.S. Intelligence Community is exceptionally well positioned to meet our intelligence requirements through targeted surveillance the same way weve always done it without resorting to the mass surveillance of entire populations."

In reply to a different question, Snowden emphasized his argument: "Collecting phone and email records for every American is a waste of money, time and human resources that could be better spent pursuing those the government has reason to suspect are a serious threat."

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Snowden says mass collection must end

BREAKING! Edward Snowden LIVE in New York Snowed-in Snowden Blizzard Snow Storm – Video

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BREAKING! Edward Snowden LIVE in New York Snowed-in Snowden Blizzard Snow Storm
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By: Jeff The Watchman

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BREAKING! Edward Snowden LIVE in New York Snowed-in Snowden Blizzard Snow Storm - Video