Snowden: I raised NSA concerns internally over 10 times before going rogue

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden said he repeatedly tried to go through official channels to raise concerns about government snooping programs but that his warnings fell on the deaf ears. In testimony to the European Parliament released Friday morning, Snowden wrote that he reported policy or legal issues related to spying programs to more than 10 officials, but as a contractor he had no legal avenue to pursue further whistleblowing.

Asked specifically if he felt like he had exhausted all other avenues before deciding to leak classified information to the public, Snowden responded:

"Yes. I had reported these clearly problematic programs to more than ten distinct officials, none of whom took any action to address them. As an employee of a private company rather than a direct employee of the US government, I was not protected by US whistleblower laws, and I would not have been protected from retaliation and legal sanction for revealing classified information about lawbreaking in accordance with the recommended process."

Snowden: I raised NSA concerns internally over 10 times before going rogue

I guess that's the "proper channels" talking point out the window.

 

[Wake]

Edward Snowden did the right thing.

Our government betrayed our Constitution.

I'd like to know who these "officials" are.

 

[DriftingSand]

Thanks Snowden. Too bad there were more like you who give a damn about due process and the 4th Amendment. Thanks again for looking out for us. More dangerous is a rogue government than a 1000 Arabs on camel-back.

 

[Katzndogz]

Then the proper channel, president Putin. You just know that there are some little gems still waiting for the light of day.

 

[ScienceRocks]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...Talking about spying on Americans by the millions doesn't = outing us to our enemies.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...

Pretty sure it's the country that stabbed all of us in the back.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...Talking about spying on Americans by the millions doesn't = outing us to our enemies.

What?

 

[MikeK]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...Talking about spying on Americans by the millions doesn't = outing us to our enemies.

Matthew,

Who are these enemies?

You are drawing conclusions with no supportive evidence. So far all I've seen is evidence that the U.S. Government has become less than that which was intended by the Framers of our Constitution and more like that which is outlined in the prognostic imaginings of George Orwell.

Edward Snowden is a whistleblower -- not a traitor.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...Talking about spying on Americans by the millions doesn't = outing us to our enemies.

Matthew,

Who are these enemies?

You are drawing conclusions with no supportive evidence. So far all I've seen is evidence that the U.S. Government has become less than that which was intended by the Framers of our Constitution and more like that which is outlined in the prognostic imaginings of George Orwell.

Edward Snowden is a whistleblower -- not a traitor.

Telling the American people that the NSA watches them through their computer webcams somehow helps the terrorists.

 

[Godboy]

We are supposed to take the word of thieving traitors now?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

We are supposed to take the word of thieving traitors now?

As opposed to the word of the NSA, which has been so honest and forthcoming up to this point.

 

[Godboy]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...Talking about spying on Americans by the millions doesn't = outing us to our enemies.

Matthew,

Who are these enemies?

You are drawing conclusions with no supportive evidence. So far all I've seen is evidence that the U.S. Government has become less than that which was intended by the Framers of our Constitution and more like that which is outlined in the prognostic imaginings of George Orwell.

Edward Snowden is a whistleblower -- not a traitor.

Telling the American people that the NSA watches them through their computer webcams somehow helps the terrorists.

He didnt stop there. Hes spilling the beans on how we spy on people around the world. Do you think hes helping us by doing that? Do you think we shouldnt have a spy agency?

 

[Godboy]

We are supposed to take the word of thieving traitors now?

As opposed to the word of the NSA, which has been so honest and forthcoming up to this point.

It wouldnt be much of a spy agency if they were forth coming. Tell me, how have Americans been negatively impacted by the NSA?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Matthew,

Who are these enemies?

You are drawing conclusions with no supportive evidence. So far all I've seen is evidence that the U.S. Government has become less than that which was intended by the Framers of our Constitution and more like that which is outlined in the prognostic imaginings of George Orwell.

Edward Snowden is a whistleblower -- not a traitor.

Telling the American people that the NSA watches them through their computer webcams somehow helps the terrorists.

He didnt stop there. Hes spilling the beans on how we spy on people around the world. Do you think hes helping us by doing that? Do you think we shouldnt have a spy agency?

Yes, Heaven forbid Angela Merkel know that the U.S. government has been illegally spying on her. She's clearly been working with al-Qaeda. And I'm probably not the right person to ask, because no, I don't think the NSA should exist.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

We are supposed to take the word of thieving traitors now?

As opposed to the word of the NSA, which has been so honest and forthcoming up to this point.

It wouldnt be much of a spy agency if they were forth coming. Tell me, how have Americans been negatively impacted by the NSA?

Would you consider yourself negatively impacted if some peeping tom was watching you in your most private, intimate moments? How about your family? What if some random person intercepted your computer on its way to being delivered to you to install spyware to report back to them on what you're doing, would that negatively impact you?

 

[Godboy]

As opposed to the word of the NSA, which has been so honest and forthcoming up to this point.

It wouldnt be much of a spy agency if they were forth coming. Tell me, how have Americans been negatively impacted by the NSA?

Would you consider yourself negatively impacted if some peeping tom was watching you in your most private, intimate moments? How about your family? What if some random person intercepted your computer on its way to being delivered to you to install spyware to report back to them on what you're doing, would that negatively impact you?

This is more like a peeping tom who has billions of videos he never actually looks at. Of course the NSA has a legitimate reason for the spying, and they use that information to protect Americans. A peeping tom however has no positive motive for his peeping.

 

[Godboy]

Telling the American people that the NSA watches them through their computer webcams somehow helps the terrorists.

He didnt stop there. Hes spilling the beans on how we spy on people around the world. Do you think hes helping us by doing that? Do you think we shouldnt have a spy agency?

Yes, Heaven forbid Angela Merkel know that the U.S. government has been illegally spying on her. She's clearly been working with al-Qaeda. And I'm probably not the right person to ask, because no, I don't think the NSA should exist.

Use some logic for once... if there is nothing to be gained from spying on Angela Merkel, why do you suppose they did it?

 

[DriftingSand]

The guy stabbed this country in the back...Talking about spying on Americans by the millions doesn't = outing us to our enemies.

No ... he didn't stab our country ... he stabbed the spy organization called NSA. "Our country" (which, last time I checked was "THE PEOPLE") didn't sanction unconstitutional spying and illegal information gathering.

See the wisdom in Mark Twain's ability to separate "country" from "government":

 

[MikeK]

He didnt stop there. Hes spilling the beans on how we spy on people around the world. Do you think hes helping us by doing that? Do you think we shouldnt have a spy agency?

Yes, Heaven forbid Angela Merkel know that the U.S. government has been illegally spying on her. She's clearly been working with al-Qaeda. And I'm probably not the right person to ask, because no, I don't think the NSA should exist.

Use some logic for once... if there is nothing to be gained from spying on Angela Merkel, why do you suppose they did it?

Because they can.

 

[Godboy]

Yes, Heaven forbid Angela Merkel know that the U.S. government has been illegally spying on her. She's clearly been working with al-Qaeda. And I'm probably not the right person to ask, because no, I don't think the NSA should exist.

Use some logic for once... if there is nothing to be gained from spying on Angela Merkel, why do you suppose they did it?

Because they can.

They can blow their entire budget on lollipops if they want to. Just "because they can" is a stupid argument.