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Published On: Mon, Jun 10th, 2013

NSA Leaker, Edward Snowden, comes forward saying ‘I have done nothing wrong’

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.

Speaking with The Guardian, Snowden’s identity is being made public upon his request as he states  “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong.”

Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden

“‘The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to…I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort of things.”

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.

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.”

Snowden isn’t worried about his personal safety adding that he is concerned he will be a distraction from the issue. “I don’t want public attention because I don’t want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing.”

“I know the media likes to personalize political debates, and I know the government will demonize me.”

Joining famous whistlebloers Daniel Ellsberg, Bradley Manning, he will be remembered as one of America’s most consequential whistleblowers.

Since May 20, Snowden has remained in Hong Kong, noting “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.

Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who broke the story, said Monday he did not believe any U.S. authorities had yet been in contact with Snowden. “To my knowledge, they do not even know where he is,” he told TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie from Hong Kong. 

The NSA police and other law enforcement officers have twice visited his home in Hawaii and already contacted his girlfriend, though he believes that may have been prompted by his absence from work, and not because of suspicions of any connection to the leaks.

“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.”

Full article and video interview here

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About the Author

- Writer and Co-Founder of The Global Dispatch, Brandon has been covering news, offering commentary for years, beginning professionally in 2003 on Crazed Fanboy before expanding into other blogs and sites. Appearing on several radio shows, Brandon has hosted Dispatch Radio, written his first novel (The Rise of the Templar) and completed the three years Global University program in Ministerial Studies to be a pastor. To Contact Brandon email [email protected] ATTN: BRANDON

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