Snowden Goes on Tweetstorm Over House Intel Report Calling Him a Criminal and a Liar
Edward Snowden is back in the news this week thanks to tomorrow’s release of Oliver Stone‘s movie about the NSA leaker. Snowden recently said he hopes for a pardon from President Obama (something Green Party candidate Jill Stein has said she would do).
Well, the House Intelligence Committee sent a fiery letter to Obama demanding he not pardon the man “who perpetrated the largest and most damaging public disclosure of classified information in our nation,s history.”
The bipartisan committee lashes out at Snowden for hurting “lawful intelligence activities,” raising questions about his travel to China and Russia, and insisting that there were ways he could have made his concerns known without going rogue:
And this comes in tandem with a new report [PDF] about Snowden’s actions signed off on by the committee which accuses Snowden of all sorts of things. In addition to the standard “he hurt national security” talk, there’s also this:
Two weeks before Snowden began mass downloads of classified documents, he was reprimanded after engaging in a workplace spat with NSA managers. Snowden was repeatedly counseled by his managers regarding his behavior at work. For example, in June 2012, Snowden becanle involved in a fiery e-mail argument With a Supervisor about how computer updates should be managed. Snowden added an NSA senior executive several levels above the supervisor to the e-mail thread, an action that earned him a swift reprimand from his contracting office for failing to follow the proper protocol for raising grievances through the chain of command. Two weeks later, Snowden began his mass downloads of classified information from NSA networks.
Yes, part of their report includes an argument Snowden had about COMPUTER UPDATES.
They also accuse him of being a serial liar:
He claimed to have left Army basic training because of broken legs when in fact he washed out because of shin splints. He claimed to have obtained a high school degree equivalent when in fact he never did.
Snowden responded by going on the following incredulous tweetstorm:
After "two years of investigation," the government charges… I faked a sick day and have a GED? Did they not watch the Guardian interview?
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@astepanovich That would be extremely unwise.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden Their report is so artlessly distorted that it would be amusing if it weren't such a serious act of bad faith. Let's take examples:
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden The claim I exfiltrated data for journos 8 months prior to Clapper? False. That was HEARTBEAT (see film), an approved data handler.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden HEARTBEAT, which seems to be the source of their 1.5m number, was explicited authorized by two levels of my management. I built it.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden The committee seems to intentionally conflate my authorized government work with my unauthorized whistleblowing. Diminishes them.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden That NSA's programs were legal and I just didn't understand the nuance? The courts disagree: https://t.co/im7EkRBOBr
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden Claim: I reported a critical problem (software updates taking field sites offline) to senior management, and was reprimanded. True!
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden That doesn't say good things about going through "proper channels" at NSA. Not sure they understand how this hurts their case.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
The claim I "doctored performance evaluations?" This one is amazing: I reported an XSS (hacking) vulnerability in CIA annual review system.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
@Snowden This was authorized by management in Geneva. I submitted a proof of concept to demonstrate the vulnerability. Deceptive framing.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
Army held me for weeks in a special unit for convalescence before separation. I left on crutches. They don't do that for "shin splints."
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
That Russian guy? Speculation presented as fact. NPR accidentally omitted the speaker's "Ya dumayu" (English: "I think") in the translation.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
That Russian guy? Speculation presented as fact. NPR accidentally omitted the speaker's "Ya dumayu" (English: "I think") in the translation.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
I could go on. Bottom line: after "two years of investigation," the American people deserve better. This report diminishes the committee.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 15, 2016
[image via screengrab]
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