If you bought Edward Snowden’s new book for Christmas, your money goes to the U.S. government – National Post

Profits earned from Edward Snowdens new book, Permanent Record, will be taken by the United States government, a judge has ruled, meaning that for anyone purchasing a copy for a Christmas gift, the money wont go to the author.

On Dec. 17, a federal court justice concluded that Snowden, the whistleblower who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, signed contracts that meant that were he to write about his activities or speak about them, he would need to submit the text for pre-publication review. Since he didnt, he forfeits all profits from book sales.

It stems back to a lawsuit filed in September by the Department of Justice; the government announced it would try to recover all proceeds from the book sales.

The government seeks to recover all proceeds earned by Snowden because of his failure to submit his publication for pre-publication review in violation of his alleged contractual and fiduciary obligations, says a department press release.

In a tweet on Dec. 19, Snowden said The government may steal a dollar, but it cannot erase the idea that earned it.

He went on to suggest people gift the book to someone else when theyre done reading it.

Snowden had attempted to argue in court that: he wouldnt get a fair review of his book from the government; the government is selectively enforcing the contract agreements; and the security agreements dont provide the basis for the governments claims against him.

But the court sided against him, saying the contracts were unambiguous and clear, and he broke the rules.

Snowden was the man who, back in 2013, swiped classified documents from a government facility in Hawaii and transported them to Hong Kong, where he then handed them over to journalists from the Guardian, a British newspaper. It became an international scandal as journalists revealed the extent to which U.S. security agencies had been spying on cellphones.

The government may steal a dollar, but it cannot erase the idea that earned i

Snowden then relocated to Russia and settled and remains in Moscow. He faces charges in the United States for alleged breaches of the Espionage Act.

The book, published by Macmillan Publishing Group, details the decisions Snowden made along the way and how he got the documents out. (The Post reached out to Macmillan Monday morning, but did not hear back by press time.)

Brett Max Kaufman, Snowdens lawyer, said in a statement to the Washington Post, Its farfetched to believe that the government would have reviewed Mr. Snowdens book or anything else he submitted in good faith. For that reason, Mr. Snowden preferred to risk his future royalties than to subject his experiences to improper government censorship.

When it announced the lawsuit, G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, said intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide personal profit.

This lawsuit will ensure that Edward Snowden receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him.

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Original post:
If you bought Edward Snowden's new book for Christmas, your money goes to the U.S. government - National Post