His (Russian) residency permit was expiring and we asked to extend it,Anatoly Kucherena, his Russian lawyer, toldReuters. "[16] On September 17, 2019, his memoir Permanent Record was published. Phone Data Program", "Watch Top U.S. Intelligence Officials Repeatedly Deny NSA Spying On Americans Over The Last Year (Videos)", "NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, confirms he will stay in Hong Kong and resist US extradition attempts", "CNN Newsroom Transcripts: NSA Leaker Revealed; More on the Santa Monica Shooting; Apple Fans & Investors Watch and Wait; George Zimmerman Trials Begins", "Behind Snowden's Hong Kong exit: fear and persuasion", "Whistle-blower Edward Snowden tells SCMP: 'Let Hong Kong people decide my fate', "Greenwald: Snowden's Files Are Out There if 'Anything Happens' to Him", "Refugees who helped Edward Snowden now look to Canada as their only hope", "After Edward Snowden Fled U.S., Asylum Seekers in Hong Kong Took Him In", "Report: Snowden stayed at Russian consulate while in Hong Kong", "Snowden Calls Russian-Spy Story "Absurd" in Exclusive Interview", "Edward Snowden passed time in airport reading and surfing internet", "Snowden "asked Russian diplomats in Hong Kong for help" - Putin", "Snowden is in 'safe place' waiting for his father to discuss future", "US revokes NSA leaker Edward Snowden's passport, as he reportedly seeks asylum in Ecuador", "Offering Snowden Aid, WikiLeaks Gets Back in the Game", "Snowden leaves Hong Kong; final destination unclear", "Whistleblower Edward Snowden on Trump, Obama & How He Ended Up in Russia to Avoid U.S. [415][416][417][418][419], In August 2020, a court filing by the Department of Justice indicated that Snowden had collected a total of over $1.2million in speaking fees in addition to advances on books since 2013. Following the election, he believed President Barack Obama was continuing policies espoused by George W. [9][291], In December 2013, Snowden told journalist Barton Gellman that supporters in Silicon Valley had donated enough bitcoins for him to live on. [175] Leaked documents published by Der Spiegel in 2014 appeared to show that the NSA had targeted 122 high-ranking leaders. No, not a presidential pardon the fugitive whistleblower had his first child, a baby. Fears Edward Snowden May Defect to China: Sources", "Exclusive: Snowden as a teen online: anime and cheeky humor", "For Snowden, a Life of Ambition, Despite the Drifting", "U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden's wife shares photos of their new son", "Army Enlisted Job Descriptions and Qualification Factors: 18X Special Forces Enlistment Option", "In Declassified Edward Snowden Report, Committee Walks Back Claims About 'Intentional Lying', "Edward Snowden did enlist for special forces, US army confirms", "University-Affiliated Research Center Laboratories (UARCs)", "Investigators looking into how Snowden gained access at NSA", "Police detain reporters, stop them from photographing alleged NSA facility where Snowden worked", "Edward Snowden Scandal: CIA Sent Him Home But NSA Hired Him Later", "Who Is Edward Snowden, The Self-Styled NSA Leaker? "[340][341][342] In August 2013, Obama rejected the suggestion that Snowden was a patriot,[343] and in November said that "the benefit of the debate he generated was not worth the damage done, because there was another way of doing it. The Big Reason Why Snowden Is Turning To Russia For Citizenship In that capacity, he was consulted by the chiefs of the CIA's technical branches, including the agency's chief information officer and its chief technology officer. His leak revealed numerous global surveillance programs run by the United States and the United Kingdom. The case of Edward Snowden exemplifies the many hurdles whistleblowers can face when stepping forward. [25][26][27][28][29] His older sister, Jessica, was a lawyer at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. Edward Snowden said that he had expected to work for the federal government, as had the rest of his family. [119], Snowden communicated using encrypted email,[116] and going by the codename "Verax". Snowden, speaking to a Geneva, Switzerland audience via video link from Moscow, said he would love to return to Geneva, where he had previously worked undercover for the CIA. The people are warm. [18], Edward Joseph Snowden was born on June 21, 1983,[19] in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. What did Edward Snowden do after he blew the whistle? He cited a lack of whistleblower protection for government contractors, the use of the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute leakers and the belief that had he used internal mechanisms to "sound the alarm," his revelations "would have been buried forever. [9] In September 2022, Snowden was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin,[10] and on 2 December 2022 he swore the oath of allegiance. [12] A week after publication of his leaks began, Ars Technica confirmed that Snowden had been an active participant at the site's online forum from 2001 through May 2012, discussing a variety of topics under the pseudonym "TheTrueHOOHA. The reactions of those I told about the scale of the constitutional violations ranged from deeply concerned to appalled, but no one was willing to risk their jobs, families, and possibly even freedom to go to [sic] through what [Thomas Andrews] Drake did. The former colleague said Snowden was given full administrator privileges with virtually unlimited access to NSA data. [30], On March 15, 2013 three days after what he later called his "breaking point" of "seeing the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress"[58] Snowden quit his job at Dell. . [131][137][138] Barton Gellman of The Washington Post was the first journalist to report on Snowden's documents. ", "Transcript: ARD interview with Edward Snowden", "Edward Snowden Q&A: Dick Cheney traitor charge is 'the highest honor', "Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance", "NSA Implementing 'Two-Person' Rule To Stop The Next Edward Snowden", "Job Title Key to Inner Access Held by Snowden", "Snowden persuaded other NSA workers to give up passwords sources", "Exclusive: Snowden Swiped Password From NSA Coworker", "NSA Memo Says Snowden Tricked Colleague to Get Password", "An NSA Coworker Remembers The Real Edward Snowden: 'A Genius Among Geniuses', "Snowden denies stealing passwords to access secret files", "Contractor fires Snowden from $122,000 per-year job", "Edward Snowden interview the edited transcript", "Edward Snowden in His Own Words: Why I became a Whistle-Blower", "Edward Snowden says "the most powerful institutions in society have become the least accountable", "Edward Snowden and the Rise of Whistle-Blower Culture", "Whistleblower Snowden:I'd love to be granted asylum in France", "Is It a Crime to Expose Crimes Already Committed? Snowden said that when the latter was arrested for drunk driving, a CIA operative offered to help in exchange for the banker becoming an informant. [358], Gary Schmitt, former staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote that "The two decisions have generated public confusion over the constitutionality of the NSA's data collection programa kind of judicial 'he-said, she-said' standoff. Learn more about it below. Snowden initially reported the perceived ethical breaches of the surveillance internally, but no one seemed interested in addressing the issues raised. Snowden was granted a freedom of speech award by the Oslo branch of the writer's group PEN International. "[295], Forbes described Trump's willingness to consider a pardon as "leagues away" from his 2013 views. They don't allow me to defend myself in an open court to the public and convince a jury that what I did was to their benefit. His remarks came in response to an article in the German magazine Der Spiegel. [230] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Snowden's passport was canceled "within two hours" of the charges against Snowden being made public[8] which was Friday, June 21. After working with the CIA and at the NSA, in 2013 he fled the US and leaked thousands of classified NSA documents, revealing highly secret government information to the world. Why did he do. "[69][84] In March 2014, during testimony to the European Parliament, Snowden wrote that before revealing classified information he had reported "clearly problematic programs" to ten officials, who he said did nothing in response. He came to international attention after the leaks appeared inThe Washington Post, The Guardian,and other publications. [405] He made a similar video link appearance on February 2, 2015, along with Greenwald, as the keynote speaker at the World Affairs Conference at Upper Canada College in Toronto. [203][204], On June 22, 18 days after the publication of Snowden's NSA documents began, officials revoked his U.S. Edward Snowden: A Timeline From his school days on the East Coast to working for U.S. intelligence and contractors around the world to leaking documents and fleeing to Russia. [65][66] Snowden disputed the memo,[67] saying in January 2014, "I never stole any passwords, nor did I trick an army of co-workers. Edward Snowden has received a Russian passport after swearing an oath of allegiance to the country that has sheltered him from US authorities since 2013, his lawyer has said. [426], On November 2, 2018, Snowden provided a court declaration in Jewel v. National Security Agency. Answer (1 of 3): Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), collected a large amount of classified information on the agency's surveillance programs, including the PRISM program, which allowed the agency to collect data from major technology companies. 641 Theft of Government Property, 18 U.S.C. INTERVIEWER: Not everybody thinks Edward Snowden did the right thing. [361][362], In an official report published in October 2015, the United Nations special rapporteur for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of speech, Professor David Kaye, criticized the U.S. government's harsh treatment of, and bringing criminal charges against, whistleblowers, including Edward Snowden. [244] All requests were ultimately denied, with varying degrees of severity in the response. Edward Snowden - National Whistleblower Center (NWC) - Protecting [263] Russian Federal Migration Service officials confirmed on July 16 that Snowden had submitted an application for temporary asylum. 1:19-cv-1197-LO-TCB, against Snowden for alleged violations of non-disclosure agreements with the CIA and NSA. [34] The University of Maryland University College acknowledged that Snowden had attended a summer session at a UM campus in Asia. Swiss media said that the Swiss Attorney General had determined that Switzerland would not extradite Snowden if the US request were considered "politically motivated". The new restrictions were widely seen as stemming from Snowden's revelations. "[185], In January 2014, Snowden said his "breaking point" was "seeing the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress. " ", "Putin says Snowden at Russian airport, signals no extradition", "N.S.A. [131][132], The NSA, the CIA and GCHQ spied on users of Second Life, Xbox Live and World of Warcraft, and attempted to recruit would-be informants from the sites, according to documents revealed in December 2013. The lawsuit was ultimately rejected by the Norwegian Supreme Court. Moscow CNN . Edward Snowden Revealed As Secret Participant in the Ceremony That Launched a $2 Billion Private Cryptocurrency NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is revealed to be John Dobbertin, the. [140] The initial reports included details about NSA call database, Boundless Informant, and of a secret court order requiring Verizon to hand the NSA millions of Americans' phone records daily,[141] the surveillance of French citizens' phone and Internet records, and those of "high-profile individuals from the world of business or politics. What does an ex-CIA whistleblower use: Android or iPhone? (Edward Snowden) In 2013, Sn. Secrets Ever: Rogers", "Exclusive: Inside Washington's Quest to Bring Down Edward Snowden", "In NSA-intercepted data, those not targeted far outnumber the foreigners who are", "Snowden Leaks Could Cost Military Billions: Pentagon", "Interview transcript: former head of the NSA and commander of the US cyber command, General Keith Alexander", "Greenwald: Snowden docs contain NSA 'blueprints', "ISIS Leader Takes Steps to Ensure Group's Survival", "John Oliver presses Edward Snowden on whether he read all leaked NSA material", "New N.S.A. "This is a dark moment in our nation's history, but it is not . principles that he now cites to justify his leaks, he said: "I wanted to fight in the Iraq war because I felt like I had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression". "[351], In August 2013, President Obama said that he had called for a review of U.S. surveillance activities before Snowden had begun revealing details of the NSA's operations,[343] and announced that he was directing DNI James Clapper "to establish a review group on intelligence and communications technologies. [91] "[73] Snowden subsequently told Wired that while at Dell in 2011, "I would sit down with the CIO of the CIA, the CTO of the CIA, the chiefs of all the technical branches. The analysis[clarification needed] includes the charges against Snowden, among several other cases. "[119] Snowden also told Gellman that until the articles were published, the journalists working with him would also be at mortal risk from the United States Intelligence Community "if they think you are the single point of failure that could stop this disclosure and make them the sole owner of this information. He said he is seeking citizenship in Russia to. Snowden later described Judge Leon's decision as vindication. Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor and press freedom advocate who has lived in Moscow in exile since 2013, hasn't uttered a word publicly on Russia's move to .