A scathing report by the House Intelligence Committee, backed by liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, concludes that Edward Snowden was a disgruntled, serial liar who leaked for petty reasons, put American soldiers at risk and remains in continuing contact with Russian intelligence services.

The 37-page review, filled with redactions of classified material, does not accuse Snowden of being a spy, but it seeks to poke holes in nearly every aspect of his account of why he gave reporters reams of classified documents he obtained as a contractor and trusted insider with the National Security Agency.

Snowden immediately began denouncing the report on Twitter from his home in Russia, saying its core claims were made "without evidence" and that it established nothing worse than he might have been hard to work with.

His lawyer, Ben Wizner, told NBC News he considers the report "a failed attempt to discredit Edward Snowden, whose actions led to the most significant intelligence reforms in a generation."

"The report wholly ignores Snowden's repeated and courageous criticism of Russian surveillance and censorship laws," Wizner said. "It combines demonstrable falsehoods with deceptive inferences to paint an entirely fictional portrait of an American whistleblower."

Rep. Adam Schiff, who represents a bright blue district in California and is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the two-year review of classified documents explodes many myths advanced by Snowden supporters.

"Snowden and his defenders claim that he is a whistleblower, but he isn't," Schiff said. "Most of the material he stole had nothing to do with Americans' privacy, and its compromise has been of great value to America's adversaries and those who mean to do America harm."

The report takes direct aim at Snowden's stated motives for removing an estimated 1.5 million documents from NSA in what officials have called the most significant leak of national security information in American history.

It portrays him as a serial exaggerator and fabricator who first exaggerated the importance of his job at the CIA where he worked before joining NSA and then lied about having ethical qualms about it. It says he cheated on a test that got him a job with NSA's elite Tailored Access Operations office, known as TAO.

Snowden has said that his "breaking point" was Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's false statement to Congress in March 2013 that the intelligence community was not collecting millions of records on Americans. As Snowden and other NSA employees knew, that was not true the NSA had for years been secretly gathering storing domestic calling records for use in terrorism investigations.

The report says that Snowden began downloading secrets eight months before, just a few weeks after a spat with his NSA supervisors.

One issue of contention, the report says, was a software patch Snowden installed while working at an NSA facility in Hawaii that caused servers to crash. After a manager complained in a mass email, Snowden fired back to a much more senior NSA official, leading to a rebuke that his conduct was unacceptable. He apologized and then began unauthorized downloads of material, the report says.

The report's passage on Snowden's alleged contacts with Russian intelligence services is mostly blacked out, but it quotes the deputy chairman of a Russian defense committee in parliament, who said in June that Snowden did share information with Russian intelligence.

On Twitter, Snowden pointed out that the Russian politician also said he was speculating. But the near-universal view across the U.S. intelligence community is that the Russians have access to much of what Snowden obtained.

Snowden has consistently denied cooperating with Russian intelligence. In 2014, he told NBC News during an exclusive U.S. broadcast interview that he had "no relationship with the Russian government at all" and was not a spy. He told Yahoo News he gave the Russians "the stiff arm."

In terms of damage, the report says the Pentagon identified eight "high risk issues" stemming from the Snowden leaks, including information that would put troops at risk if, as U.S. officials assume, the Russian and Chinese militaries now possess it.

The report lists 21 examples of ways in which Snowden's leaks caused "massive damage" to U.S. national security. But each one is blacked out.

In arguing that Snowden cannot be considered a whistleblower, the report points out that the vast majority of what he took most of which has never been disclosed had nothing to do with electronic surveillance issues or privacy and civil liberties.

The report also notes that he spied on colleagues, invading their personal privacy, and that he hunted for personnel records about promotions and hiring at NSA. And it says investigators could find no evidence he ever expressed any concerns to colleagues about the nature of NSA's surveillance work.

Snowden's disclosure that the NSA had been keeping phone calling records on nearly every American led to the overhaul of that program, and some other modest changes in the rules for U.S. surveillance.

But most of his leaks had little impact on how the NSA does business. His disclosure of the so-called PRISM program, for example under which the federal government spies on foreigners by gathering data from U.S. internet providers did not lead to the abandonment of that program, which is considered extremely valuable even though it incidentally collects some American data.

However, the law governing that program expires next year, and some commentators have wondered whether Democrats in Congress will support extending it under President Donald Trump.

The reporting on Snowden's disclosures by the Guardian and the Washington Post won major awards, as Snowden noted on Twitter.

"Not one page mentions this journalism won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, reformed our laws, and changed even the President's mind," Snowden said.

Yet the report notes with irony that in 2012, Snowden met with a training officer at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland and expressed concerns that he failed a test designed to train NSA operatives how to use the PRISM program while adhering to privacy and civil liberties standards.

"At no point during the visit did Snowden raise any concerns about how the NSA used" the program to collect internet data from American companies, the report said.

"This extensive report shows Snowden is no hero," said Rep. Lynn Westemoreland, a Georgia Republican who chairs an intelligence subccommittee that oversees NSA. "He should be brought to justice for his reckless actions."

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Congress calls Edward Snowden a liar in scathing new report

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Streaming via the Periscope app from his Twitter account, Snowden discussed with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey claims that fake news helped to sway the election in favour of President-elect Donald Trump.Facebook announced that it would be partnering with ABC News, Politifact, and Snopes to label fake news on their platform. Snowden stated that censorship was not the answer to the issue and that teaching people critical thinking would be much more beneficial.

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The problem of fake news isnt solved by hoping for a referee but rather because we as participants, we as citizens, we as users of these services help each other, said Snowden, The answer to bad speech is not censorship. The answer to bad speech is more speech. We have to exercise and spread the idea that critical thinking matters now more than ever, given the fact that lies seem to be getting very popular.

Snowden did not state whether or not he believed the claims that fake news had swung the election in any way but rather pointed out the dangers of companies using terms like fake news to censor content with which they disagreed. Snowden stated that rather than waiting for gatekeepers to define what is and isnt fake news, people should have an open dialogue with each other and point out proven facts.

Snowden has previously stated the people must stop relying on one source for all of their news. Speaking at Fusions Real Future Fair, Snowden said, There seems to be no alternative to the larger services. Because of this network effect, because the first mover advantage. When you get a Google or a Facebook or Twitter in place, they never seem to leave, Snowden said. To have one company that has enough power to reshape the way we think, I dont think I need to describe how dangerous that is.

Watch a replay of Snowdens interview with Jack Dorsey here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart Tech covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com

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Edward Snowden: Don't Rely on 'Referee' to Censor 'Fake News ...

Ever since the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong and handed hard drives filled with highly classified documents to the journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, there has been rampant speculation over whether he was really a foreign agent.

The official story is well known. Snowden over time grew frustrated with the U.S. government's excessive domestic surveillance. In an act of civic bravery, he leaked the evidence to reporters from the Guardian and the Washington Post. As he was trying to travel to South America in May 2013, the State Department pulled his passport. Snowden has been stuck in Russia ever since.

Lots of people never bought that. The writer Edward Jay Epstein, for example, has argued that the scope of documents Snowden stole, most of which dealt with U.S. military and intelligence capabilities and not the dragnet collection of telephone data of ordinary citizens, suggest he was part of an intelligence operation. Mike Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has accused Snowden of working closely with Moscow.

So one might think that finally, after more than three years, a new unclassified report on Snowden from Rogers's former committee could shed some light on this matter. Unfortunately, the report released by the committee Thursday does no such thing.

On the vital question of whether Snowden worked with a foreign power when he was taking the documents he would eventually leak, the House investigation is a tease. There is a section titled "Foreign Influence." Yet all but two of its sentences, including supporting footnotes, are redacted.

The two sentences we are allowed to read don't tell us much. One quotes a fragment of an NPR interview with Frants Klintsevich, a member of the Russian Duma's defense and security committee. He says Snowden shared intelligence. Snowden himself tweeted that, in its written transcript of the interview, NPR excluded a caveat from Klintsevich that he was speculating about this.

The other sentence seems more tantalizing. "Since Snowden's arrival in Moscow, he has had, and continues to have, contact with Russian intelligence services," it says. This would stand to reason. After all, Snowden would have invaluable information on the inner working of U.S. signal intelligence collection. Of course Russian intelligence officers would want to talk to him.

For now, though, this claim should be treated as speculation. The report does not provide any evidence to support it. Snowden denies that he is "in cahoots with Russian intel." The report also confirms that Snowden did not arrive in Moscow with the hard drives of documents that he provided to journalists.

Even if it's true that Snowden has been in touch with Russian spies, it does nothing to dispel or support the central question about whether hewas acting as a witting, or unwitting, foreign agent back in 2013. When I asked around about this Thursday, U.S. officials who were familiar with the unredacted report told me it remains an open question. Perhaps it does. But the public record tells a different story.

Chris Inglis, who was the deputy director of the NSA when Snowden first leaked the documents, earlier this year said, "I don't think he was in the employ of the Chinese or the Russians, I don't see any evidence to support that." He also said that he believed Snowden had intended to go to Latin America after he gave the hard drives to Greenwald and Poitras, and that his plan appeared to be hatched on the fly. The Inglis version of events is supported by other senior officials. The current head of the NSA, Admiral Michael Rogers, told the Defense News in 2014 that it was possible Snowden was a foreign agent, but he was "probably not."

Given all of this confusion, the U.S. intelligence community should declassify the new report's section on foreign influence. If this is really an open question, then the American people deserve to see all the evidence. If he was a spy, it would mean that our counter-intelligence professionals were outwitted again by Russia, just as they were with the moles Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. If Snowden really is who he claims to be, this too should be a matter of public record.

Instead, the U.S. intelligence community has added to the public's confusion by refusing to declassify the information. As a result, the redacted section of the House Intelligence Committee report on foreign influence is a species of innuendo. The public can't see the evidence, but trust us, there is something.

All of this is ironic. As Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told me in 2014, it was a mistake to keep the NSA's program to collect the telephone metadata of U.S. citizens a secret for so long. That was the substance of Snowden's initial disclosure to the Washington Post and the Guardian.

Because the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations shielded this program from the public, Snowden was able to pose as a whistleblower, even though he also leaked reams of information that had nothing to do with the privacy rights of American citizens, including details about how the NSA had hacked computers in China.

In this sense, protecting an unnecessary secret enabled the mass disclosure of necessary secrets. The House Intelligence Committee's report on Snowden proves the U.S. government has yet to learn this lesson.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story: Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net

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Was Edward Snowden a Spy? The Answer Remains Classified

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Thanks to his act of conscience, America's surveillance programs have been subjected to democratic scrutiny, the NSA's surveillance powers were reined in for the first time in decades, and technology companies around the world are newly invigorated to protect their customers and strengthen our communications infrastructure.

Snowden should be hailed as a hero. Instead, he is exiled in Moscow, and faces decades in prison under World War One-era charges that treat him like a spy. Ed stood up for us, and it's time for us to stand up for him. Urge President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, and let him come home with dignity.

Our ranks include lawyers, policy experts, technologists, civil rights advocates, artists, and cryptographers who are committed to human rights and open societies.

Attorney General Eric Holder

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Noam Chomsky, MIT Professor, American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist and historian

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Snowden (2016) - IMDb

Who Is Edward Snowden?

Edward Snowden is a 31 year old US citizen, former Intelligence Community officer and whistleblower. The documents he revealed provided a vital public window into the NSA and its international intelligence partners secret mass surveillance programs and capabilities. These revelations generated unprecedented attention around the world on privacy intrusions and digital security, leading to a global debate on the issue.

Snowden worked in various roles within the US Intelligence Community, including serving undercover for the CIA overseas. He most recently worked as an infrastructure analyst at the NSA, through a Booz Allen Hamilton contract, when he left his home and family in Hawaii to blow the whistle in May 2013. After travelling to Hong Kong, Snowden revealed documents to the American public on the NSAs mass surveillance programs, which were shown to be operating without any public oversight and outside the limits of the US Constitution. The US government has charged Snowden with theft of government property, and two further charges under the 1917 Espionage Act. Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

With the US pursuing his extradition, Snowden is now in Russia, where he was formally granted three years residency from 1 August 2014, after a year of temporary asylum in Russia ended on 31st July 2014.Journalists continue to publish documents from Snowden that reveal the secret and unaccountable systems of modern global surveillance.

For quick access to information on all aspects concerning Edward Snowden and his case, please read our Frequently asked questions page.

Snowden talks at the Sam Adams Award award ceremony in October 2013 about the secret surveillance he revealed and its dangers to democracy.

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Edward Snowden - Courage Snowden

The vote, which has no legal force, was 285-281. The resolution urges nations to drop criminal charges and "consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistle-blower and international human rights defender."

Snowden, a former contractor at the U.S. National Security Agency, leaked documents about top secret mass surveillance programs. He fled the United States in 2013 and spent more than a month living in Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport before being granted asylum.

"This is not a blow against the US Government, but an open hand extended by friends. It is a chance to move forward," he wrote.

The Justice Department has said Snowden would face criminal prosecution if he returns to the United States. He's been charged with three felony counts, including violations of the U.S. Espionage Act.

Snowden told the BBC this month that he has offered "many times" to go to prison in the United States as part of a deal to return from exile in Russia, but is still waiting for an answer from the American government.

In response to Thursday's vote, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. policy on Snowden has not changed.

"He needs to come back to the United States and face the due process and the judicial process here in the United States. That's been our position from the beginning. It's our belief that the man put U.S. national security in great danger and he needs to be held account to that," Kirby said.

CNN's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.

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EU Parliament votes to protect Edward Snowden - CNN.com

Edward Snowden called the EU parliaments vote extraordinary and a game-changer, but the US government stood by its vow to prosecute him should he return. Photograph: The Guardian

Edward Snowden on Thursday hailed as extraordinary and a game-changer a vote in the European parliament calling on member states to prevent his extradition to the US.

Related: US court refuses to stop NSA phone surveillance during 180-day 'transition'

The parliament voted 285-281 to pass a largely symbolic measure, a resolution that called on European Union member states to drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden, grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistleblower and international human rights defender.

Snowden has lived in exile in Russia since revealing secret US government surveillance programs in June 2013.

The European parliament is a directly elected legislature with members from all 28 EU member states. Its legislative authority is limited. The resolution amounted to a request that member states reject attempts by the US to arrest and prosecute Snowden.

This is not a blow against the US government, but an open hand extended by friends, Snowden tweeted. It is a chance to move forward.

The US government did not, however, seem to see it that way.

Our position has not changed, Ned Price, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement emailed to the Guardian. Mr Snowden is accused of leaking classified information and faces felony charges here in the United States. As such, he should be returned to the US as soon as possible, where he will be accorded full due process.

While the US has promised Snowden due process, it has charged him under the Espionage Act of 1917, which forbids the disclosure of state secrets and which would not allow Snowden to argue in his defense that his disclosures had a public benefit.

We welcome todays decision of the European parliament recognizing Edward Snowden as a human rights defender and calling upon member states to grant him protection from prosecution, Wolfgang Kaleck, Snowdens lawyer in Berlin, said in an email.

It is an overdue step and we urge the member states to act now to implement the resolution.

Related: NSA mass phone surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal

In its legislative action on Thursday, the parliament also called for new assurances that data transfers to the US are subject to an effective level of protection and raised concerns about recent laws in some member states including France, the UK and the Netherlands that extend surveillance capabilities of intelligence bodies.

The vote came as a federal appeals court allowed a delay in the mothballing of a dragnet domestic surveillance program first exposed by Snowden.

The second US circuit court of appeals ruled on Thursday to permit a 180-day orderly transition period until the NSA would be required to cease the warrantless bulk collection of telephone metadata in the United States.

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Edward Snowden praises EU parliament vote against US ...

Origem: Wikipdia, a enciclopdia livre.

Edward Joseph Snowden[1][2] (Elizabeth City, 21 de junho de 1983) um analista de sistemas, [3] ex-administrador de sistemas da CIA e ex-contratado da NSA [4] que tornou pblicos detalhes de vrios programas que constituem o sistema de vigilncia global da NSA americana[5][6][7] .[8][9]

A revelao deu-se atravs dos jornais The Guardian e The Washington Post, dando detalhes da Vigilncia Global de comunicaes e trfego de informaes executada atravs de vrios Programas[10] , entre eles o programa de vigilncia PRISM dos Estados Unidos.[11][12][13][14] Em reao s revelaes[15] , o Governo dos Estados Unidos acusou-o de roubo de propriedade do governo, comunicao no autorizada de informaes de defesa nacional e comunicao intencional de informaes classificadas como de inteligncia para pessoa no autorizada.[16]

Em junho de 2013, Edward Snowden, falando de seu trabalho para a NSA e dos motivos por que decidiu correr os riscos de revelar a existncia dos programas de vigilncia e espionagem mundial, disse:

"Eu sou apenas mais um cara que fica l no dia a dia em um escritrio, observa o que est acontecendo e diz: 'Isso algo que no para ser decidido por ns; o pblico precisa decidir se esses programas e polticas esto certos ou errados." (Snowden, junho de 2013)[17][18]

Em 2015, o filme Citizenfour, foi o ganhador do Oscar[19] na categoria de melhor documentrio. O documentrio dirigido por Laura Poitras aborda a extenso da vigilncia global e espionagem pelos Estados Unidos, feitas atravs da NSA bem como, em filmagem feita durante o desenrolar dos eventos, documenta como se deram os encontros com Edward Snowden antes e depois de sua identidade ser revelada ao pblico.[20][21]

Em Novembro de 2014, Oliver Stone anunciou que ir produzir e realizar uma cinebiografia de Edward Snowden. O ator Joseph Gordon-Levitt foi o escolhido para interpretar o personagem de Snowden[22] .

Edward Joseph Snowden nasceu em Elizabeth City, Carolina do Norte,[23] e cresceu em Wilmington, Carolina do Norte.[24] Seu pai, Lonnie Snowden, residente de Pennsylvania, era um oficial da Guarda Costeira dos Estados Unidos,[25] e sua me Elizabeth, conhecida como Wendy, residente de Baltimore, Maryland, uma funcionria de um tribunal federal de Maryland.[24][26]

Em 1999, Snowden mudou-se com a famlia para Ellicott City, Maryland.[24] Estudou computao na Anne Arundel Community College[24] para obter os crditos necessrios para obter um diploma de ensino mdio, mas no concluiu o curso.[27] O pai de Snowden explicou que seu filho perdeu vrios meses de escola devido a doenas e, ao invs de voltar, se props a fazer os exames e passou um General Educational Development em uma faculdade comunitria local.[28][14][29][14][29] Snowden obteve mestrado on-line da University of Liverpool em 2011.[30] Tendo trabalhado em uma base militar dos EUA no Japo, Snowden criou profundo interesse em cultura japonesa chegando a estudar o idioma japons[31] e mais tarde trabalhar em uma empresa de anime.[32][33] Ele tambm disse ter um conhecimento bsico de mandarim e estar profundamente interessado em artes marciais, listando tambm o Budismo como sua religio.[34]

Em 7 de maio de 2004, Snowden alistou-se no Exrcito dos Estados Unidos, como um soldado das Foras Especiais, mas no completou o treinamento por haver quebrado as duas pernas em um acidente de treinamento.[35][36][37] Ele disse que queria lutar na guerra do Iraque, porque "sentiu que tinha a obrigao como um ser humano de ajudar a libertar as pessoas da opresso".[14]

Seu emprego seguinte foi como guarda de segurana no Centro de Estudos Avanados de Lngua na Universidade de Maryland,[38][39] antes, ele disse ter se reunido Agncia Central de Inteligncia (CIA) para trabalhar em segurana em TI.[40] Em maio de 2006, Snowden escreveu na Ars Technica, um site de notcias de tecnologia e informao, que no tinha problemas para conseguir trabalho, porque ele era um "gnio da computao". Em agosto, ele escreveu sobre seu possvel encaminhamento para um servio no governo, talvez envolvendo China, que "simplesmente no parece ser to "divertido" como "alguns dos outros lugares."[37]

Do Hava, onde trabalhou na Booz Allen Hamilton e antes de revelar documentos sigilosos aos jornalistas, Snowden viajou para Hong Kong em 20 de maio de 2013. As autoridades norte-americanas ao tomar conhecimento de sua presena em Hong Kong, solicitaram sem sucesso sua extradio.[41]

Em Hong Kong, ele ento se reuniu com o jornalista Glenn Greenwald e a cineasta e jornalista Laura Poitras[42][43][44][45] e lhes entregou os documentos que comprovavam as suas afirmaes da existncia dos programas de Vigilncia em massa.[46][47]

Em 22 de junho de 2013, as autoridades federais dos Estados Unidos apresentaram acusaes formais contra o ex-agente da CIA pelo vazamento de dados secretos do governo que revelaram detalhes do projeto de monitoramento global, denominado PRISM, que monitorou as conversas telefnicas e transmisses na Internet de cidados dos EUA e de outros pases. De acordo com a declarao de funcionrios americanos imprensa local, Snowden tambm foi acusado de espionagem, roubo e transferncia de propriedade do governo em um documento confidencial, apresentado em um tribunal federal da Virgnia.[48]

No dia 31 de outubro, o secretrio americano de Estado, John Kerry, admitiu que os Estado Unidos"foram longe demais"em alguns casos de espionagem, mas justificou as prticas de Inteligncia e coleta de informaes como parte da luta contra o terrorismo e a preveno de atentados.

Em 23 de junho de 2013, Snowden embarcou em um avio comercial da Aeroflot, de Hong Kong com destino a Moscou,[49] sob os cuidados de Sarah Harrison, jornalista britnica, pesquisadora legal e editora de WikiLeaks. Sarah trabalha com a equipe de defesa legal de Julian Assange e da WikiLeaks.[50][51]

Na manh de 24 de junho de 2013, ficou detido na rea de trnsito do Aeroporto Internacional Sheremetyevo enquanto Harrison trabalhava para obter asilo para Snowden juntamente com advogados russos. Em 1 de agosto de 2013, Snowden saiu do aeroporto Sheremetyevo aps passar mais de um ms na zona de trnsito local.[52]

Em 29 de dezembro de 2013, no 30 Congresso de Comunicao Chaos[53] , Sarah Harrison foi ovacionada por longo tempo por ser considerada como tendo salvo a vida de Snowden, bem como por sua participao ativa em tentar proteger os direitos de Chelsea E. Manning.[54]

Em 23 de junho de 2013, o Ministro dos Negcios Estrangeiros equatoriano, Ricardo Patio, informou pelo Twitter que Edward Snowden pediu asilo poltico ao Equador, que posteriormente no foi processado por dvidas e complexidade.[55][56][57]

O presidente da Rssia, Vladimir Putin, ofereceu asilo em seu pas em 1 de julho de 2013, mas, para isso, exigiu que Edward Snowden parasse de divulgar segredos norte-americanos. Entre tempo enviou pedidos de asilo a 21 pases, entre eles: Alemanha, ustria, Bolvia, Brasil, China, Cuba, Finlndia, Frana, ndia, Itlia, Irlanda, Pases Baixos, Nicargua, Noruega, Polnia, Espanha, Sua e Venezuela.[58][59][60]

No dia 5 de julho, Nicols Maduro, presidente da Venezuela, anunciou a aceitao do pedido de asilo poltico de Snowden.[61]

Em 2 de julho, o avio em que viajava o presidente da Bolvia, Evo Morales, proveniente de Moscou, foi forado a fazer um pouso de emergncia, por falta de combustvel, em Viena e a l permanecer por 14 horas, depois que Portugal, Frana, Espanha e Itlia revogaram as permisses de aterrissagem e sobrevoo dos seus espaos areos, sob presso dos Estados Unidos, que suspeitavam que Snowden estivesse a bordo. [62][63][64][65] Em 6 de julho, Evo Morales ofereceu asilo humanitrio a Snowden.

Com a descoberta de que o Brasil alvo de espionagem por parte dos rgos de inteligncia dos Estados Unidos, vrios senadores defenderam que Brasil concedesse asilo a Edward Snowden.[66]

Em 1 de agosto de 2013, s 15h30, hora local,[67] Edward Snowden entrou em territrio russo, depois de ter recebido documentao do Servio de Migrao russo que lhe concedeu asilo por um ano na Rssia.[68]

O professor de sociologia da Sucia, Stefan Svallfors, indicou Snowden, ao Prmio Nobel da Paz.[69] Em carta endereada ao Comit Nobel noruegus, Svallfors afirmou que os feitos de Snowden so "heroicos e significaram grandes sacrifcios pessoais".[70] No mesmo documento, afirmou ainda que a atitude do ex-analista da Agncia de Segurana Nacional estimula que pessoas envolvidas em atos contrrios aos direitos humanos possam denunci-los.[71] Ele foi laureado para o nobel da paz em 2015 tambm.[72]

Em 2013, Snowden recebeu a Sam Adams Award. O prmio concedido anualmente a um profissional de inteligncia que seja reconhecido por haver assumido uma posio de integridade e tica.

Em 18 de Fevereiro de 2014, vencendo trs concorrentes e recebendo mais da metade dos 6.560 votos,[73][74] Snowden foi eleito para servir como Reitor da Universidade de Glasgow[75]

Aps a eleio, Snowden emitiu um comunicado dizendo que estava "honrado e grato pela declarao histrica em defesa dos nossos valores compartilhados". Ele continuou:"Somos lembrados por esta deciso ousada que a base de todo aprendizado ousada. A coragem de investigar, experimentar, perguntar. Se no contestar a violao do direito fundamental de pessoas livres de no serem molestados em seus pensamentos, associaes e comunicaes - de serem livres de suspeita, sem causa - teremos perdido a base da nossa sociedade pensante. A defesa dessa liberdade fundamental o desafio de nossa gerao, um trabalho que exige a criao de novos controles e protees para limitar os poderes extraordinrios de Estados sobre o domnio da comunicao humana".[76] Snowden suceder o ex-lder do Partido Liberal Democrata britnico Charles Kennedy. O cargo simblico mas a escolha feita por eleio. [77]

Em abril de 2014, juntamente com Laura Poitras, Snowden recebeu o Prmio Ridenhour por expr a verdade.[78][79]

Em 18 de maro de 2014, falando da Rssia atravs de um rob conectado via Internet, Edward Snowden apareceu na conferncia TED. Foi saudado e chamado de heri por Tim Berners-Lee, criador da WWW, pelas revelaes sobre a vigilncia global pela NSA[81][82]

Desde as revelaes de vigilncia global da NSA, Snowden tem recebido ameaas de morte annimas, feitas por agentes de vrias organizaes americanas incluindo o Pentgono e a NSA.[83]

Em depoimento ao Parlamento Europeu em 7 de maro de 2014, Snowden afirmou que os Estados Unidos teriam pedido sua execuo[84] .

A grande mdia dos EUA como o The New York Times, CNN e outros estabelecimentos tm permanecido em silncio sobre o assunto de que funcionrios do governo dos EUA tm afirmado que pretendem assassinar Edward Snowden.

A primeira vez que a situao foi levada a pblico foi atravs da Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), um servio pblico de rdio difuso e televiso, com sede em Hamburgo, na Alemanha e do site BuzzFeed.

Em entrevista ao vivo NDR dada por Snowden em 26 de janeiro de 2014, as ameaas de morte a Snowden foram tratadas como notcia extremamente importante.[85]

Em janeiro de 2014, o BuzzFeed publicou um artigo intitulado: "Espies americanos querem Edward Snowden morto".[86]

O artigo citou um oficial do Pentgono dizendo:

"Eu gostaria de colocar uma bala na cabea dele."

Outro indivduo identificado apenas como sendo um analista da NSA disse:

"Em um mundo onde eu no estaria impedido de matar um americano, eu iria mat-lo pessoalmente."

Um oficial de alta patente do exrcito americano chegou a descrever o cenrio que ele e seus colegas imaginam para matar Snowden. Disse o oficial ao BuzzFeed:

"Eu acho que se tivssemos a oportunidade, acabaramos com isso rapidamente. Apenas de maneira bem casual, quando ele (Snowden) vai andando nas ruas de Moscou, voltando de comprar seus mantimentos. No caminho de volta para seu apartamento, ele recebe um esbarro aparentemente acidental por um transeunte. Ele nem pensa muito sobre isso no momento em que acontece mas pouco depois se sente um pouco tonto e pensa que um parasita da gua local. Dai, ele vai para casa muito inocentemente e a prxima coisa que voc fica sabendo que ele morreu no chuveiro.

Outro funcionrio foi citado, dizendo que Snowden no merece qualquer julgamento e deve ser imediatamente enforcado.

Varias outras ameaas tm sido publicadas. Snowden afirmou em junho de 2013 que sabia que ir contra a agencia de inteligncia mais poderosa do mundo colocaria sua vida em perigo. Em dezembro de 2013, vendo que as revelaes causaram uma resposta por parte de vrios pases, ele afirma que considera sua misso cumprida.[87]

O advogado russo de Snowden, Anatoly Kucherena, afirma que as ameaas so srias e que o governo americano precisa explicar o fato. Ele desafiou o governo dos EUA a nomear os funcionrios que fizeram tais ameaas. Anatoly disse a imprensa:[88]

"Acreditamos que o governo dos EUA precisa prestar ateno a tais declaraes"..."As pessoas que fazem declaraes extremistas fazem- lo, escondidos em uma mscara sem revelar suas identidades.

"Mas temos publicaes impressas especficas dessas entrevistas. Vamos pedir que as mscaras dessas pessoas sejam retiradas. Precisamos saber quem este oficial NSA e de quem d as ordens sobre maneiras de eliminar Edward Snowden.

Desde que recebeu asilo temporrio na Rssia, em agosto de 2013, Snowden vem sendo protegido por Moscou, o que causou ultraje aos EUA a ponto de Barack Obama recusar um convite para um encontro de cpula vindo de Vladimir Putin. Desde que a Rssia concedeu asilo a Snowden e deu-lhe proteo, o governo americano passou a tratar o pas com hostilidade ainda mais evidente do que anteriormente.

Cpias dos documentos originais j publicados[89][90] pela impressa internacional, bem como informaes sobre os programas e ligaes para publicaes pela imprensa internacional[91] , vm sendo disponibilizadas ao pblico desde 9 de agosto de 2013, no stio eletrnico da "The Courage Foundation" (Fundao Coragem, em portugus), na seo "Revelaes" (Revelations, no site). Anteriormente chamada "Fundo para Proteo e Defesa de Fontes Jornalsticas" (traduo em portugus), uma entidade situada no Reino Unido que tem como objetivo ajudar na defesa e campanhas de apoio judicirio a fontes jornalsticas.

A "The Courage Foundation" publica tambm informaes atualizadas sobre as ameaas que Edward Snowden enfrenta, como ele est sendo protegido e sobre campanhas para apoi-lo.

Entre as publicaes, esto includos os documentos revelados referentes as parcerias da NSA com empresas e entidades privadas bem como os referentes aos pases parceiros da NSA, uma vez que, atravs das revelaes do Programa de Vigilncia Global, iniciadas em junho de 2013 com base nos documentos revelados por Edward Snowden, mais informaes vieram a pblico sobre as atividades conjuntas de vigilncia global dos pases signatrios do Tratado de Segurana UK-USA referidos como "Cinco Olhos" (Five Eyes - em ingls): Estados Unidos, Canad, Austrlia, Nova Zelndia e Reino Unido[92][93] , e de seus parceiros privados.

Originalmente em lngua inglesa, os documentos so ricos em ilustraes esclarecedoras, uma vez que grande parte do material consta de inmeros slides ilustrados de apresentaes em PowerPoint.[94][95]

Glenn Greenwald, uma das poucas pessoas a quem Edward Snowden entregou os documentos revelando os programas de vigilncia e espionagem global, vem publicando no The Intercept[96] os documentos que servem de base para as publicaes na imprensa das informaes sobre cada programa de vigilncia revelado, bem como a documentao dos acordos entre pases participantes da vigilncia global.

A Electronic Frontier Foundation tambm coleta os documentos j publicados e disponibiliza-os ao pblico.[97] Alguns jornais de lngua portuguesa tiveram acesso e publicaram parte dos documentos e slides com informaes na lngua portuguesa.[98]

Em julho de 2014 foi noticiado que Edward Snowden teria publicado documentos revelando que Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, lder do Da'ish, seria na verdade Simon Elliott, de ascendncia judia, recrutado pelo Mossad para criar discrdia entre os muulmanos, fomentar a guerra entre o Oriente e o Ocidente e assim reforar a posio do Estado de Israel no Oriente Mdio.[99] . Segundo os documentos supostamente revelados por Snowden, a nica soluo para a proteo do Estado judeu seria "criar um inimigo perto de suas fronteiras"[100]

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Last month, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald and other privacy activists launched a new campaign to establish global privacy standards. The proposed International Treaty on the Right to Privacy, Protection Against Improper Surveillance and Protection of Whistleblowers would require states to ban mass data collection and implement public oversight of national security programs. It would also require states to offer asylum to whistleblowers. Its been dubbed the "Snowden Treaty." We discuss the state of mass surveillance with Nils Muinieks, the Council of Europes commissioner for human rights.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Were talking to Nils Muinieks. He is the commissioner for human rights for the Council of Europe. Last month, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald and other privacy activists launched a new campaign to establish global privacy standards. The proposed International Treaty on the Right to Privacy, Protection Against Improper Surveillance and Protection of Whistleblowers would require states to ban mass data collection and implement public oversight of national security programs. It would also require states to offer asylum to whistleblowers. Its been dubbed the, quote, "Snowden Treaty." Snowden spoke about the need for the treaty via teleconference from Russia at the September launch.

EDWARD SNOWDEN: This is not a problem exclusive to the United States or the National Security Agency or the FBI or the Department of Justice or any agency of government anywhere. This is a global problem that affects all of us.

AMY GOODMAN: Thats Edward Snowden. What do you think has to happen around mass surveillance?

NILS MUINIEKS: Well, we have a very negative trend now in Europe, where a number of countries are moving from targeted surveillance to untargeted surveillance, and this is quite dangerous. This means that everybody is a suspect. What we need is we need strict rules on authorization of surveillance measures. We need to outlaw certainthe use of certain technologies, which catch awhich cast a very wide net and grab communications of everybody in an area, everybody communicating with a certain person who might be suspected of terrorist activities. But we need to beef up democratic oversight of security services. We need intrusive parliamentary committees. We need judicial authorization. We needwe need to be assured that the security services arent doing what they can, but that they are operating within the framework of the rule of law. And we need to provide remedies, effective remedies, to those who have been done wrong, who have been unjustly surveilled and had their privacy invaded.

AMY GOODMAN: Who would be the police on this?

NILS MUINIEKS: There are various models in Europe. But very often, to make it democratic, it has to be parliamentarian, as well. You need members of parliament engaged and keeping an eye on the executive, keeping an eye on the security services. Very often you have expert panels assisting parliaments, people who have the technical expertise to know what theyre being shown by the security services. And I think its completely legitimate to give money to security services, to give them technological know-how, but we need to do the same to the overseers, so that they can really see and understand whats going on and keep an eye on it.

AMY GOODMAN: Go ahead.

NILS MUINIEKS: Very often these overseers are rubberthey rubber-stamp requests for surveillance. They dont really go into the meat of it. When I wasI asked in Germany, for example, the people involved with authorizing surveillance requests. They said 98 to 99 percent of all requests are granted. To me, this shows that the system is not effective.

AMY GOODMAN: Is Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor, do you believe?

NILS MUINIEKS: I thinkI will be agnostic on that question, but I think that he revealed a serious human rights issue, which until then had not been known. And some of the issuesome of the solutions that he is proposing, I think, are very much in line with what we have been advocating.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, a ceasefire agreed in the east of Ukrainehas been agreedbetween the separatists and Ukrainian government forces, has been holding. But fears remain that fighting could resume. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kiev was not upholding its end of the Ukraine peace deal.

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: [translated] It is useless to endlessly blame Russia for not fulfilling or not urging the authorities of unrecognized republics in the southeast of Ukraine to do something in fulfillment of the Minsk agreements, if the key positions of the Minsk agreements are not fulfilled by the Kiev authorities. And they are not fulfilled by the Kiev authorities.

AMY GOODMAN: That is Putin of Russia. Nils Muinieks, youve been spending a lot of your time on Ukraine. What should we understand about it?

NILS MUINIEKS: Ukraine is a human rights disaster zone. Crimea has been annexed. The human rights situation there has deteriorated very seriously in the last year. The east of the country, which is held by the rebels, supported by RussiaI was in Donetsk, in rebel-occupied Donetsk, in July. There are very serious human rights issues there, but the humanitarian situation there is also catastrophic. You have a lot of people who have been displaced. You have a lot of people who are going hungry, who dont have access to clean water, to medicine. You have allegations of enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture. And the West needs to support Ukraine, but it also needs to hold it to account for its human rights violations, because it also has not done everything it can. And sometimes there are somethere are some military groupings which are also involved in or implicated in human rights violations.

AMY GOODMAN: Were going to have to leave it there, but of course well continue to follow all of these issues. Nils Muinieks is the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights.

And that does it for our show, though this news just in: Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee has dropped out of the race for the Democratic Party nomination for president. Chafee is a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democratic former governor and senator of Rhode Island.

We have a job opening at Democracy Now! Its development director, full-time in New York. Go to our website to find out the details at democracynow.org.

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