Snowden: The Government That Is Attacking Me Is Also Reforming Because of Me

Brian Williams’ exclusive
interview with whistleblower Edward Snowden aired on NBC last
night. The nearly 40-minute interview didn’t provide any new
information for those who have been closely following Snowden’s
situation, but offered Snowden a chance to debunk some of the
nonsense being said about him, particularly by politicians—such as
Secretary of State
John Kerry—who think he should just “man up” and come home to
face espionage charges for the crime of telling the public what
their government is doing.

Here are some highlights:

• Snowden says he did not bring any of his documents with him to
  Russia and he doesn’t have access to any of them, even by computer,
  to give to the Russians. His files are all in the hands of the
  journalists he’s partnered with, such as Glenn Greenwald. Williams
  also acknowledged that NBC News has partnered with Snowden and
  Greenwald to report on some of the documents.
• Snowden says he was working like a spy, lying about what his
  job was and even using a fake name. He says his critics are using
  his earlier position as a “low-level analyst” to detract from the
  totality of his work. He says he has worked for the CIA and the
  National Security Agency (NSA) and gave lectures on keeping
  information secure.
• He’s not a fan of using fears of terrorism to undermine civil
  liberties: “I take the threat of terrorism seriously and I think we
  all do. I think it’s really disingenuous for the government to
  invoke, and sort of scandalize our memories, to sort of exploit the
  national trauma that we all suffered together and worked so hard to
  come through to justify programs that have never been shown to keep
  us safe but cost us liberties and freedoms we don’t need to give up
  and our constitution says we should not give up.”
• Probably the only really new disclosure for those who have been
  following Snowden’s leaks is his claim that any powerful
  intelligence agency, not just America’s but Russia’s and China’s as
  well, can access cellphones as soon as they’re turned on. They can
  use the phones’ embedded microphones and cameras and turn phones on
  when they’re off. But, he points out, such technology would likely
  only be used against targeted people. Williams asked whether an
  intelligence agency would be interested in knowing that he looked
  up the score for a hockey game, prompting Snowden to explain how
  this information could be used to establish Williams’ “pattern of
  life”: “Are you engaging in any kinds of activities we disapprove
  of, even if they’re technically not illegal?” The activities
  Williams engaged in could increase his level of scrutiny, even if
  he hasn’t done anything wrong.
• NSA analysts can watch people’s Internet communications and see
  them write messages in real time.
• He reiterates (as this has already been reported) that he did
  attempt to go through proper channels to blow the whistle on the
  unconstitutional surveillance of the NSA. His concerns are
  documented in writing, he says, and Congress should be able to get
  them from the office of general counsel. NBC has confirmed that at
  least one email from Snowden exists and has filed a Freedom of
  Information Act (FOIA) request to look for other records.
• The NSA’s auditing process was so negligent that any private
  contractor could walk into the Agency, take anything they wanted,
  and walk out, and the government would never know. He pointed out
  that despite claims that all sorts of military secrets were at
  risk, nothing about troops or weapons or non-surveillance issues
  have appeared in the press.
• Snowden entered into agreements with the media outlets he’s
  provided documents to that they would actually check with the
  government to make sure no specific harms could befall individuals
  from their reporting. This played out
  recently when Greenwald and other journalists declined to name
  one of the countries in which America is reportedly recording and
  temporarily storing all mobile calls.
• He explains that he cannot return home to “face charges”
  because of the intricacies of the Espionage Act and how they’re
  stacked against the defendant. He would not be provided an open
  court or “a fair trial.”
• He is frustrated being in Russia where individuals’ rights are
  “being challenged,” given that he sees himself as fighting for
  Americans’ rights. He objects to Russia’s new law requiring the
  registering of bloggers and says no government should be regulating
  the operations of a free press.
• Williams asked him to explain how he sees himself still serving
  the government. Snowden points out that one court so far has ruled
  the bulk metadata collection likely unconstitutional and members of
  Congress are trying to end it (though their efforts have been
  extremely watered
  down). “How can it be said that I did not serve my country?” he
  asked. “How can it be said I have harmed government when all three
  branches of the government have made reforms as a result of
  it?”

If you missed it, watch the interview below: