NSA Whistle Blower Goes Public

[kalm]

Pretty damn heroic. It will be interesting to see how the administration handles this.

The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said.

Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's most secretive organisations – the NSA.

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant...

On May 20, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he has remained ever since. He chose the city because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent", and because he believed that it was one of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government...

In the three weeks since he arrived, he has been ensconced in a hotel room. "I've left the room maybe a total of three times during my entire stay," he said. It is a plush hotel and, what with eating meals in his room too, he has run up big bills.

He is deeply worried about being spied on. He lines the door of his hotel room with pillows to prevent eavesdropping. He puts a large red hood over his head and laptop when entering his passwords to prevent any hidden cameras from detecting them....

"All my options are bad," he said. The US could begin extradition proceedings against him, a potentially problematic, lengthy and unpredictable course for Washington. Or the Chinese government might whisk him away for questioning, viewing him as a useful source of information. Or he might end up being grabbed and bundled into a plane bound for US territory.

"Yes, I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners. They work closely with a number of other nations. Or they could pay off the Triads. Any of their agents or assets," he said.

"We have got a CIA station just up the road – the consulate here in Hong Kong – and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."

Having watched the Obama administration prosecute whistleblowers at a historically unprecedented rate, he fully expects the US government to attempt to use all its weight to punish him. "I am not afraid," he said calmly, "because this is the choice I've made."

He predicts the government will launch an investigation and "say I have broken the Espionage Act and helped our enemies, but that can be used against anyone who points out how massive and invasive the system has become".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/ju ... :Position1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ibanez]

Wow. I'm not sure what to make of this.

As a Booz Allen Hamilton employee, I'm conflicted.

[houndawg]

Gargantuan balls, metallic in construction..

He did the right thing, god help his young ass...

[CitadelGrad]

Anyone want to set an over/under until he is droned?

[Ibanez]

Gargantuan balls, metallic in construction..

He did the right thing, god help his young ass...

It's a shame that he feels safer in Hong Kong.

[CID1990]

I disagree with lumping this guy in with that Army shithead who leaked to Assange. Totally different in my book.


Sent from the center of the universe.

[BDKJMU]

Edward Snowden: I mistakenly believed in Obama’s promises
http://washingtonexaminer.com/edward-sn ... le/2531439" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well, that makes me question his intelligence right there.

[DSUrocks07]

Edward Snowden: I mistakenly believed in Obama’s promises
http://washingtonexaminer.com/edward-sn ... le/2531439" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well, that makes me question his intelligence right there.

At least he's willing to admit his mistake, unlike those who are hellbent on going down with the ship.

[Ibanez]

If he truly felt that something was wrong, why not go through the proper channels?

[kalm]

If he truly felt that something was wrong, why not go through the proper channels?

At the minimum, fear of imprisonment but I suspect even fear for his own safety. He probably calculated that it would never get far up the chain anyway. It's not as if this administration has a solid track record on dealing with whistleblowers or transparency...unless you're someone like Bob Woodward.

Meanwhile, The New York Times states that the investigation “comes against a backdrop of an aggressive policy by the Obama administration to rein in leaks. Under President Obama, six current and former government officials have been indicted in leak-related cases so far, twice the number brought under all previous administrations combined....

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has charged six whistle-blowers, a term apparently not in The New York Times’s or The Washington Post’s editorial vocabulary, under the Espionage Act. These six individuals have revealed government waste, fraud, and abuse, acts of aggression, torture and war crimes. Yet, it is those who have revealed the criminal activity that have suffered prosecution by the Obama administration while those who actually committed the crimes have gone unpunished.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/ ... z2VocWJaTr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

Or read the story of CIA agent John Kiriakou who's now serving time in prison.

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/30/cia_whi ... om_prison/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ibanez]

If he truly felt that something was wrong, why not go through the proper channels?

At the minimum, fear of imprisonment but I suspect even fear for his own safety. He probably calculated that it would never get far up the chain anyway. It's not as if this administration has a solid track record on dealing with whistleblowers or transparency...unless you're someone like Bob Woodward.

Meanwhile, The New York Times states that the investigation “comes against a backdrop of an aggressive policy by the Obama administration to rein in leaks. Under President Obama, six current and former government officials have been indicted in leak-related cases so far, twice the number brought under all previous administrations combined....

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has charged six whistle-blowers, a term apparently not in The New York Times’s or The Washington Post’s editorial vocabulary, under the Espionage Act. These six individuals have revealed government waste, fraud, and abuse, acts of aggression, torture and war crimes. Yet, it is those who have revealed the criminal activity that have suffered prosecution by the Obama administration while those who actually committed the crimes have gone unpunished.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/ ... z2VocWJaTr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

Or read the story of CIA agent John Kiriakou who's now serving time in prison.

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/30/cia_whi ... om_prison/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From our CEO

Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information

“Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, has been an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.”

[Ivytalk]

Once I learned that Glenn Greenwald did the interview, I knew that kalm would post about it.

[kalm]

Once I learned that Glenn Greenwald did the interview, I knew that kalm would post about it.

CID posted it, just like SCBH posted a Taibbi piece a few months back. Not my fault your establishment media is colluding with Washington and getting their ass handed to them by the Brits and new media. Player hater!

[Grizalltheway]

If he truly felt that something was wrong, why not go through the proper channels?

Proper channels?

"Hey boss, I really don't like these programs. I think it's wrong to spy on our own citizens like this"
"Okay, pack up your stuff and be out by the end of the day. And if you ever say anything about this to anyone, your ass is toast."

[Pwns]

I'm ambivalent on this. PRISM and these other technologies look for very specific things, and they only know who is calling who and can't access actual calls without some sort of probable cause. These folks aren't just fishing around for any phone conversations with certain key words in them. On top of that, I seriously doubt it's anywhere near capable of keeping up with the massive amount of information transmitted between devices in real time.

[BDKJMU]

"Rand Paul On NSA Spying: "I'm Going To Challenge This At The Supreme Court"
"I'm going to be asking all the internet providers and all of the phone companies: ask your customers to join me in a class action lawsuit," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told host Chris Wallace. "If we get ten million Americans saying we don't want our phone records looked at, then maybe someone will wake up and something will change in Washington.""
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5lgvxcMkS4[/youtube]

The headline is a little misleading. He actually said "I'm going to see if I can challenge this at the Supreme Court level....."

Good for Rand Paul...

[Ibanez]

If he truly felt that something was wrong, why not go through the proper channels?

Proper channels?

"Hey boss, I really don't like these programs. I think it's wrong to spy on our own citizens like this"
"Okay, pack up your stuff and be out by the end of the day. And if you ever say anything about this to anyone, your ass is toast."

No, it goes to the Inspector General. If he went to his employer and told him what he found, they would've at least followed up. Then he and the company should have gone to the OIG. FWIW, I've seen 3 cases of people "blow the whistle" in the 8 yrs I've been in the defense industry. It's been for things like misappropriation of funds, fraud and one intelligence leak. All 3 are still gainfully employed and never prosecuted.

[BDKJMU]

GOP Senator Paul introduces bill to stop NSA surveillance of phone records without warrant
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ibanez]

GOP Senator Paul introduces bill to stop NSA surveillance of phone records without warrant
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So you praise him for reaction? He''s like Obama. All of our politicians are the same. They all react. Nobody acts. Nobody is proactive.

[BDKJMU]

GOP Senator Paul introduces bill to stop NSA surveillance of phone records without warrant
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So you praise him for reaction? He''s like Obama. All of our politicians are the same. They all react. Nobody acts. Nobody is proactive.

Ok, nevermind. He should be doing nothing..

[Ibanez]

So you praise him for reaction? He''s like Obama. All of our politicians are the same. They all react. Nobody acts. Nobody is proactive.

Ok, nevermind. He should be doing nothing..

Did I say that? No, I didn't. Stick to posting articles as your posts instead of offering anything of value.

Paul is being reactionary. We've known about this since the Bush administration. Why has it taken 5 plus years to introduce a bill to curtail these actions? And if everyone congressman had been briefed on these programs, why wasn't there action taken then?

[BDKJMU]

Ok, nevermind. He should be doing nothing..

Did I say that? No, I didn't. Stick to posting articles as your posts instead of offering anything of value.

Paul is being reactionary. We've known about this since the Bush administration. Why has it taken 5 plus years to introduce a bill to curtail these actions? And if everyone congressman had been briefed on these programs, why wasn't there action taken then?

Oh BS "We've known about the this since Bush admin". If we knew about it, then it wouldn't have been classified. We didn't know about Prism. We didn't know 9 major internet companies and several phone companies were being used to spy on Americans.

You must have believed what Obama spoonfeed you when he said every member of congress had been briefed on these programs. Every Congressman HASN'T been biefed on this programs:

"DEM. SENATOR SHUTS DOWN OBAMA’S DEFENSE: ‘AVERAGE MEMBER’ OF CONGRESS NOT AWARE OF THE EXTENT OF GOVERNMENT SPYING

.......;Durbin told Politico that while congressional leadership and intelligence committee members were given information about the programs, the “average member” of Congress was likely not aware of the extent of the government’s monitoring.

“They don’t receive this kind of briefing,” Durbin said of the rank-and-file members.......

....Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Politico he “hadn’t been briefed on this particular issue” of the government obtaining phone records, and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said he learned of it through news reports — though added it “wasn’t a surprise.”

Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) replied “Not quite!” in response to a journalist’s tweet that said “Obama says “every member of Congress” has been briefed on phone program #NSA.”"
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06 ... nt-spying/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Republican lawmakers: NSA surveillance news to us

......Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also get briefed, along with intelligence committee chairs and ranking members. Rank-and-file members of Congress, however, are only periodically briefed on specific incidents — there have been briefings recently on Syria and the Boston bombings......"
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/r ... 92418.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ibanez]

Did I say that? No, I didn't. Stick to posting articles as your posts instead of offering anything of value.

Paul is being reactionary. We've known about this since the Bush administration. Why has it taken 5 plus years to introduce a bill to curtail these actions? And if everyone congressman had been briefed on these programs, why wasn't there action taken then?

Oh BS "We've known about the this since Bush admin". If we knew about it, then it wouldn't have been classified. We didn't know about Prism. We didn't know 9 major internet companies and several phone companies were being used to spy on Americans.

You must have believed what Obama spoonfeed you when he said every member of congress had been briefed on these programs. Every Congressman HASN'T been biefed on this programs:

"DEM. SENATOR SHUTS DOWN OBAMA’S DEFENSE: ‘AVERAGE MEMBER’ OF CONGRESS NOT AWARE OF THE EXTENT OF GOVERNMENT SPYING

.......;Durbin told Politico that while congressional leadership and intelligence committee members were given information about the programs, the “average member” of Congress was likely not aware of the extent of the government’s monitoring.

“They don’t receive this kind of briefing,” Durbin said of the rank-and-file members.......

....Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Politico he “hadn’t been briefed on this particular issue” of the government obtaining phone records, and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said he learned of it through news reports — though added it “wasn’t a surprise.”

Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) replied “Not quite!” in response to a journalist’s tweet that said “Obama says “every member of Congress” has been briefed on phone program #NSA.”"
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06 ... nt-spying/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Republican lawmakers: NSA surveillance news to us

......Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also get briefed, along with intelligence committee chairs and ranking members. Rank-and-file members of Congress, however, are only periodically briefed on specific incidents — there have been briefings recently on Syria and the Boston bombings......"
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/r ... 92418.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This level of eavesdropping and surveillance isn't new. This is an extension of the warrant less wiretapping and surveillance that Bush authorized. You don't have the balls to admit it. Obama has expanded the same domestic spying techniques that Bush used post 9/11.

Did you not see my skepticism in saying, "if everyone congressman had been briefed on these programs...?" I was listening to his speech on ACA when he was asked this question and immediately called it as "BS."

[93henfan]

NSA has been storing intercepted data for decades. Originally, it was directed toward the Communist bloc, then the ragheads, but it was inevitably going to turn toward domestic spying eventually.

And while your communications might not be viewed in real time, don't think they aren't being stored as 0s and 1s for later analysis if you ever become a target.

It really is frightening.

[BDKJMU]

Ok, nevermind. He should be doing nothing..

Did I say that? No, I didn't. Stick to posting articles as your posts instead of offering anything of value.

Paul is being reactionary. We've known about this since the Bush administration. Why has it taken 5 plus years to introduce a bill to curtail these actions? And if everyone congressman had been briefed on these programs, why wasn't there action taken then?

No, you haven't been paying attention. Paul has consistently opposed the Patriot Act. In 2011 Paul introduced bill to repeal Patriot Act:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics ... act/38194/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;