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Edward Joseph Snowden (born 1983) is an American technical contractor, whistleblower and former United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden released classified material on ­top-secret NSA programs including the PRISM surveillance program to The Guardian and The Washington Post in June 2013.

Early life and career

Snowden was brought up in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, later moving with his family to Ellicott City, Maryland where he studied computing at community college.

In 2003, Snowden enlisted in the United States Army with the hope of eventually joining the Special Forces. He was discharged after breaking both of his legs in a training accident. He then went to work as a security guard for a covert NSA facility at the University of Maryland. After that he went to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where he worked on IT security. In 2007, the CIA stationed him with diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for maintaining computer network security. Leaving the CIA in 2009, he worked for a private contractor inside an NSA facility on a United States military base in Japan.

At the time of his departure from the US in May 2013, he had been working for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton for less than three months, as a system administrator inside of the NSA in Hawaii. He described his life as "very comfortable", living with his girlfriend and earning a salary of "roughly US$200,000."

The Guardian describes Snowden as intensely passionate about the value of privacy; his laptop is adorned with stickers supporting internet freedom organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tor Project. Although he says he "believed in Obama's promises", he "voted for a third party" in the 2008 election. Political donation records indicate that he contributed to the primary campaign of Ron Paul.

Whistleblowing

In May 2013, Snowden was granted temporary leave from his work as a contractor for the NSA in Hawaii, on the pretext of receiving treatment for his epilepsy. On May 20, he flew to Hong Kong and began living in a hotel room, from which he leaked documents and provided an interview to The Guardian.

The Washington Post reported that the motive behind the leaks was to expose the United States ‘surveillance state’. Explaining his justification for the disclosure, Snowden remarked that he "can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things … I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.

— Edward Snowden, speaking to The Guardian in June 2013

Snowden's identity was made public by The Guardian and The Washington Post at his request, days after the leak. He explained his reasoning for forgoing anonymity: "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong".

He has said that he has a "predisposition to seek asylum in a country with shared values," and that his ideal choice would be Iceland. The International Modern Media Institute, an Icelandic freedom of speech advocacy organisation, on the day his identity was revealed issued a statement offering Snowden legal advice and assistance in gaining asylum.

Response

The National Security Agency has requested a criminal probe into Snowden's actions from the United States Department of Justice. James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, said that his "reckless disclosures" have resulted in "significant misimpressions" in the media. Speaking before Snowden was named, chairman of the US Select Committee on Intelligence Mike Rogers said of the whistleblower: "I absolutely think they should be prosecuted".

Snowden's employer Booz Allen Hamilton released a statement condemning his actions as "shocking" and "a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm". The statement says he had been with the firm for under three months.

Amy Davidson, writing in The New Yorker, said Snowden "is the reason our country has, in the last week, been having a conversation on privacy and the limits of domestic surveillance. That was overdue, and one wishes it had been prompted by self-examination on the part of the Obama Administration or real oversight by Congress." She went on to say "We also learned that James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, flat-out lied to the Senate when he said that the N.S.A. did not 'wittingly' collect any sort of data on millions of Americans. And we were reminded of how disappointing President Obama can be. These were all things the public deserved to know."

Shortly after Snowden revealed his identity, a petition was posted on the White House website, asking for "a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs." Moreover, a legal defense fund was also set up through giveforward.com.

Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower and leaker of the top-secret Pentagon Papers in 1971, stated in an interview with CNN that he thought Snowden had done an "incalculable" service to his country and that his leaks might prevent America from becoming a surveillance state. He said Snowden had acted with the same sort of courage and patriotism as a soldier in battle.

See also

• Thomas Andrews Drake, Mark Klein, William Binney, Thomas Tamm, Russ Tice (NSA Whistleblowers)
• James Bamford (Author of three books on the NSA)
• PRISM (surveillance program), NSA electronic surveillance program, NSA warrantless surveillance controversy, NSA call database, Stellar Wind (code name)
• Classified information in the United States
• Information sensitivity
• Hepting v. AT&T, NSA warrantless surveillance controversy (2005)
• Espionage Act of 1917, McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

References

1. ^ "Edward Snowden says motive behind leaks was to expose 'surveillance state'". The Washington Post. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
2. ^ Contractor Edward Snowden comes forward as source of NSA leaks - The Washington Post
3. Smith, Matt (9 June 2013). "NSA leaker comes forward, warns of agency's 'existential threat'". CNN. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
4. Calderone, Michael (7 June 2013). "Washington Post Began PRISM Story Three Weeks Ago, Heard Guardian's 'Footsteps'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
5. ^ Gellman, Barton; Blake, Aaron; Miller, Greg (9 June 2013). "Edward Snowden identified as source of NSA leaks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
6. ^ Greenwald, Glenn; MacAskill, Ewen; Poitras, Laura (9 June 2013). Written at Hong Kong. "Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
7. Leger, Donna Leinwand. "NSA contractor: 'I know I have done nothing wrong'". USA Today. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
8. ^ "Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information". 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
9. Borger, Julian (9 June 2013). "Booz Allen Hamilton: Edward Snowden's US contracting firm". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2003-06-09. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
10. ^ MacAskill, Ewen (9 June 2013). "NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I do not expect to see home again'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
11. Zara, Christopher (9 June 2013). "NSA Whistleblower Revealed: Edward Snowden Donated $500 To Ron Paul's 2012 Presidential Campaign: Does NSA Whistleblower Have Libertarian Leanings?". International Business Times. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
12. "Man claiming to be NSA whistleblower comes forward". CBS News. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
13. "Statement regarding involvement of IMMI in Edward Snowden asylum request". Reykjavík, Iceland: International Modern Media Institute. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
14. Gardner, Timothy; Hosenball, Mark (9 June 2013). "Spy agency seeks criminal probe into leaks". Reuters. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
15. Delawala, Imtiyaz (9 June 2013). "Guardian Reporter Glenn Greenwald Blasts Calls for Leak Prosecutions". ABC News. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
16. Davidson, Amy. June 9, 2013. Edward Snowden, The N.S.A. Leaker, Comes Forward, New Yorker
17. Pardon Edward Snowden | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government
18. Stableford, Dylan (9 June 2013). "NSA whistleblower revealed as Edward Snowden, 29-year-old ex-CIA employee". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
19. Ball, James (9 June 2013). "Edward Snowden identifies himself as source of NSA leaks - live". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
20. O'Malley, Nick (10 June 2013). "NSA leaker reveals himself after fleeing US". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 June 2013.

• Current events from June 2013
• Living people
• American whistleblowers
• Counter-terrorism policy of the United States
• Espionage
• National Security Agency
• Obama administration controversies
• People of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Privacy in the United States
• Privacy of telecommunications
• Surveillance
• Surveillance scandals
• People from Ellicott City, Maryland
• People from Pasquotank County, North Carolina