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Several hundred Hong Kong residents gathered on June 15 to support Snowden and to voice their opposition to US surveillance policies.<ref name="autogenerated3" /> Also on that date, a poll conducted in Hong Kong and reported in the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' showed that half of the 509 respondents believed the Chinese government should not surrender Snowden to the United States if Washington raises such a request. According to the poll, 33 per cent of Hong Kong residents think of Snowden as a hero, 12.8 per cent described him as a traitor, 23 per cent described him as "something in between", and the remainder said they could not comment.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1261483/one-2-hongkongers-say-snowden-should-not-be-surrendered-us |title=Hongkongers don't want Snowden handed over to the US, according to poll |newspaper=South China Morning Post|first=Joshua|last=But|date=June 16, 2013|accessdate=June 17, 2013}}</ref>
Several hundred Hong Kong residents gathered on June 15 to support Snowden and to voice their opposition to US surveillance policies.<ref name="autogenerated3" /> Also on that date, a poll conducted in Hong Kong and reported in the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' showed that half of the 509 respondents believed the Chinese government should not surrender Snowden to the United States if Washington raises such a request. According to the poll, 33 per cent of Hong Kong residents think of Snowden as a hero, 12.8 per cent described him as a traitor, 23 per cent described him as "something in between", and the remainder said they could not comment.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1261483/one-2-hongkongers-say-snowden-should-not-be-surrendered-us |title=Hongkongers don't want Snowden handed over to the US, according to poll |newspaper=''[[South China Morning Post]]''|first=Joshua|last=But|date=June 16, 2013|accessdate=June 17, 2013}}</ref>

On June 20, 2013 Mandy Zuo of the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' said that a ''[[People's Daily]]'' editorial from June 19 stated that the Beijing government is unwilling to be involved in a "mess" caused by others and a June 19 commentary from the ''[[Global Times]]'' stated that the Hong Kong government should follow the public opinion, "be more spontaneous" and not concern itself with [[Sino-US relations].<ref name=ZuoSCMPEditorials>Zuo, Mandy. "[http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1264604/newspaper-commentaries-suggest-beijing-wants-hong-kong-handle-snowden-its Beijing wants Hong Kong to handle Snowden on its own, party newspapers suggest]." (in print as "Articles highlight possible Beijing role") ''[[South China Morning Post]]''. 20 June 2013. Retrieved on 20 June 2013.</ref> A [[Tsinghua University]] communications studies specialist, Liu Jianming, argued that the two articles suggested that the PRC government does not want further involvement in the Snowden case and wants the HKSAR government to handle it.<ref name=ZuoSCMPEditorials/>


== Political views ==
== Political views ==

Revision as of 07:39, 20 June 2013

Edward Snowden
Born
Edward Joseph Snowden

(1983-06-21) June 21, 1983 (age 40)[1]
Wilmington, North Carolina, United States
StatusUnknown, last known whereabouts: Hong Kong[2]
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSystem administrator
Known forPRISM surveillance program whistleblowing

Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983)[1] is an American former technical contractor and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), before leaking details of classified NSA mass surveillance programs to the press.[3][4] Snowden shared classified material on a variety of top-secret NSA programs, including the interception of U.S. telephone metadata and the PRISM surveillance program, primarily with The Guardian, which published a series of exposés based on Snowden's disclosures in June 2013. Snowden said his disclosure of PRISM and FISA orders related to NSA data capture efforts was an effort "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."[4][5][6]

Snowden's leaks rank among the most significant breaches in the history of the NSA.[7] Matthew M. Aid, an intelligence historian in Washington, said disclosures linked to Snowden have "confirmed longstanding suspicions that NSA's surveillance in this country is far more intrusive than we knew."[7]

Family and education

Edward Snowden grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina.[8] His father, a resident of Pennsylvania, was an officer in the United States Coast Guard,[9] and his mother, a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, is an administrative clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.[10][8]

By 1999, Snowden had moved with his family to Ellicott City, Maryland, where he studied computing at Anne Arundel Community College[8] in order to gain the credits necessary to obtain a high school diploma, but he did not complete the coursework.[11] He later obtained a GED.[6][12] Snowden worked online towards a Master's Degree at the University of Liverpool in 2011.[13]

On June 17, 2013, Snowden's father, Lonnie Snowden, spoke in an interview on FOX TV. He said that he was appearing on TV because of concern about the misinformation in the media. He described his son as "a sensitive, caring young man. … He just is a deep thinker.” He said that it was incorrect to characterize his son as a high school dropout. He explained that his son missed several months of school due to illness and rather than return tested out for his GED at a local community college. While he is in agreement with his son in his opposition to the surveillance programs that he revealed, he asked his son to stop leaking and return home.[14]

Before leaving for Hong Kong, Snowden resided in Waipahu, Oahu, Hawaii, with his girlfriend.[15]

Career

On May 7, 2004, Snowden enlisted in the United States Army as a Special Forces recruit but did not complete the training.[1][16] He said he 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".[6] However, he said he was discharged four months later on September 28 after having broken both of his legs in a training accident.

His next employment was as a National Security Agency (NSA) security guard for the covert Center for Advanced Study of Language at the University of Maryland,[17] before, he said, joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to work on IT security.[18] In May 2006 Snowden wrote in Ars Technica, an online forum for gamers, hackers and hardware tinkerers, that he had no trouble getting work because he was a "computer wizard." In August he wrote about a possible path in government service, perhaps involving China. “I’ve already got a basic understanding of Mandarin and the culture, but it just doesn’t seem like as much 'fun' as some of the other places,” he wrote.[16]

Snowden said that in 2007 the CIA stationed him with diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for maintaining computer network security.[19] Snowden described this as a "formative experience," stating that the CIA deliberately got a Swiss banker drunk and encouraged him to drive home. When he was arrested, a CIA operative offered to intervene and later recruited the banker. Swiss President Ueli Maurer commented, "It does not seem to me that it is likely that this incident played out as it has been described by Snowden and by the media."[20] The revelations come at a sensitive time for US-Swiss relations as the Swiss government attempts to pass legislation allowing for more banking transparency.[21]

Snowden told The Guardian he left the agency in 2009 for a private contractor inside an NSA facility on a United States military base in Japan.[6] NSA Director Keith Alexander has said that Snowden held a position at the NSA for the twelve months prior to his next job as a consultant.[22]

At the time of his departure from the US in May 2013, he had been working for consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton for less than three months as a system administrator inside the NSA at the Kunia Regional SIGINT Operations Center in Hawaii.[23][24][25] He described his life as "very comfortable," earning a salary of "roughly US$200,000" prior to his employment with Booz Allen Hamilton.[26] According to Booz Allen Hamilton, Snowden employed on a salary of $122,000. The firm said Snowden's employment was terminated on June 10 "for violations of the firm's code of ethics and firm policy".[27][28] Snowden later clarified that $200,000 represented his "career high" salary, and had taken a pay cut to work at Booz Allen Hamilton.[29]

NSA surveillance disclosures

Main articles: PRISM (surveillance program), NSA call database, and Boundless Informant

Media disclosures

A top secret document leaked by Edward Snowden to The Guardian, originally due to be declassified on April 12, 2038

Snowden first made contact with documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras in January 2013.[30] According to Poitras, Snowden chose to contact her after seeing her report on William Binney, an NSA whistleblower, in The New York Times. She is a board member of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, along with journalist Glenn Greenwald and renowned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.[31] Greenwald, reporting for The Guardian, claims to have been working with Snowden since February,[32] and Barton Gellman, writing for The Washington Post, says his first "direct contact" was on May 16.[33] However, Gellman alleges Greenwald was only involved after the Post declined to guarantee publication of the full documents within 72 hours.[33] Gellman says he told Snowden "we would not make any guarantee about what we published or when....Snowden replied succinctly, 'I regret that we weren’t able to keep this project unilateral.' Shortly afterward he made contact with Glenn Greenwald of the British newspaper The Guardian."[33]

Snowden communicated using encrypted email,[30] using the codename "Verax", meaning truth-teller in Latin. He asked not to be quoted at length for fear of identification by semantic analysis.[33]

According to Gellman, prior to their first meeting in person, Snowden wrote, "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end."[33] Snowden also told Gellman that until the articles were published, the journalists working with him would also be at risk from the U.S. intelligence community, whom Snowden said "will most certainly kill you if they think you are the single point of failure that could stop this disclosure and make them the sole owner of this information."[33]

The Washington Post reported that the motive behind the disclosure was to expose the "surveillance state" that he felt the United States was becoming.[3]

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.

— Edward Snowden, speaking to The Guardian in June 2013[34]

Timeline

In May 2013, Snowden was permitted temporary leave from his position at the NSA in Hawaii, on the pretext of receiving treatment for his epilepsy.[6] According to local real estate agents, Snowden and his girlfriend moved out of their home on May 1, leaving nothing behind.[11] One of Snowden's neighbors said the couple rarely went outside, but she noticed their garage was always filled. "They had their wall of moving boxes in front of the garage," she said. "It was a wall that went floor to ceiling, all the way across and that had been there from the time they moved in and they never took it down and you wonder about that."[35]

On May 20, Snowden flew to the Chinese territory of Hong Kong and stayed in a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.[36][37] Snowden checked out of the hotel four days after the news broke.[36][38]

Snowden later explained his choice of Hong Kong thus:

NSA employees must declare their foreign travel 30 days in advance and are monitored. There was a distinct possibility I would be interdicted en route, so I had to travel with no advance booking to a country with the cultural and legal framework to allow me to work without being immediately detained. Hong Kong provided that. Iceland could be pushed harder, quicker, before the public could have a chance to make their feelings known, and I would not put that past the current US administration.[29]

News stories based on documents disclosed by Snowden were as follows:

  1. On June 5, the Guardian released a top secret order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that ordered a business division of Verizon Communications to provide "on an ongoing daily basis" metadata for all telephone calls “wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls” and all calls made “between the United States and abroad.”
  2. On June 6, the Guardian and the Washington Post revealed PRISM, a clandestine electronic surveillance program that allegedly allows the NSA to access e-mail, web searches, and other Internet traffic in realtime.
  3. On June 9, the Guardian revealed Boundless Informant, a system that "details and even maps by country the voluminous amount of information [the NSA] collects from computer and telephone networks."
  4. On June 12, the South China Morning Post disclosed that the NSA has been hacking into computers in China and Hong Kong since 2009.
  5. On June 17, the Guardian revealed that the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a British intelligence agency, had intercepted foreign politicians' communications at the 2009 G-20 London Summit.[39]

Matthew M. Aid, an intelligence historian in Washington, said disclosures linked to Snowden have "confirmed longstanding suspicions that NSA's surveillance in this country is far more intrusive than we knew."[7] On June 6, Gellman quotes Snowden as having "jitters", and saying that "the police already visited my house [in Hawaii] this morning".[33] The PRISM revelations were published by The Washington Post later that day, followed 20 minutes later by The Guardian.[32]

Snowden's identity was made public by The Guardian at his request,[32] on June 9. He explained his reasoning for forgoing anonymity: "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong."[6] He also wished to protect his colleagues from being put through any inquiries.[40] Greenwald said that while Snowden was using personal savings, money is "probably very low [on his] long list of worries".[41]

Within 24 hours of revealing himself he had only bare details about his family online with no new photographs, no Facebook and Twitter status updates, and no interviews with associates from high school.[42]

On June 14, the Associated Press reported that it had a copy of a letter from the UK Home Office to all airlines, urging them to deny boarding to Snowden on any flight to the United Kingdom, as he is "highly likely to be refused entry."[43] Speaking unofficially, a British diplomat said that any airline that brought Snowden into the country would be liable to be fined $3,100.[44]

On June 19, 2013, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated that if Snowden was to apply for refugee status in Hong Kong he would receive no special treatment.[45]

Possible political asylum

Snowden has said that he has a "predisposition to seek asylum in a country with shared values," and that his ideal choice would be Iceland.[4][6] The International Modern Media Institute, an Icelandic freedom of speech advocacy organization, on the day his identity was revealed issued a statement offering Snowden legal advice and assistance in gaining asylum.[46] However, Kristin Arnadottir, the Icelandic ambassador to China, pointed out that an asylum cannot be granted to Snowden because Icelandic law requires such applications be made from within the country.[47]

Snowden has vowed to challenge any extradition attempt by the US government, and he was reported to have approached Hong Kong human rights lawyers.[48] In an interview with Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Snowden said that his intention is to remain in Hong Kong until "asked to leave."[49] Snowden added that his intention was to let the "courts and people of Hong Kong" decide his fate.[50] New York University law professor Jerome A. Cohen noted that the judiciary of Hong Kong might find that Snowden's case fell under the political offence exception to the extradition treaty.[51]

Reactions

United States government

The NSA has made a request to the Department of Justice for a criminal probe into Snowden's actions. Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, said that his "reckless disclosures" have resulted in "significant misimpressions" in the media.[52] 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."[53]

Public figures

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.[54] In an op-ed the following morning, Ellsberg added that "there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material – and that includes the Pentagon Papers, for which I was responsible 40 years ago."[55] Ray McGovern, a retired CIA officer who presented White House intelligence briefs for multiple presidents, said he agreed with Ellsberg in an interview where he also said "this time today I'm feeling much more hopeful for our democracy that I was feeling this time yesterday".[56]

Julian Assange praised and lauded Snowden, calling him a "hero" who has exposed "one of the most serious events of the decade – the creeping formulation of a mass surveillance state".[57] Journalist Glenn Greenwald has also praised Snowden.[58] The ACLU has sued the Obama administration over the issue of NSA surveillance.[59]

Several political figures across the political spectrum have praised Edward Snowden for exposing secret government surveillance to the public. These include Chris Hedges[60] and Michael Moore[61] on the left; and Glenn Beck,[61] Matt Drudge,[62] Alex Jones,[63] former Representative Ron Paul,[64] Michael Savage,[65] and former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura[66] of conservative and libertarian convictions. Former 2008 Libertarian Party candidate for president Bob Barr said, "That'll take care of itself. It's not, did one man violate the law, but did the U.S. government violate the law?"[67]

William Binney said that while Snowden had previously "performed a really great public service to begin with by exposing these programs and making the government in a sense publicly accountable for what they're doing" since Snowden began leaking the China-related material "he is transitioning from whistle-blower to a traitor."[68]

Members of Congress

Members of the Republican Party differed in their stances towards Snowden. Republican-affiliated figures opposing Snowden include John Boehner, Saxby Chambliss, and Erick Erickson. House Speaker Boehner called Snowden "a 'traitor' who has put Americans at risk." Chambliss, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, supported the intelligence collecting as a means to combat terrorism and Erickson "pilloried Snowden for fleeing 'to the communists'.” Republican-affiliated figures supporting Snowden include Ken Langone, Barry Loudermilk, and Ron Paul.[69] Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) said: "Whether or not this program was authorized by Congress, it seems to me that this is an unconstitutional activity ... Which would make it illegal, and he should have some kind of immunity.”[70] Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said: "If it is the case that the federal government is seizing millions of personal records about law-abiding citizens, and if it is the case that there are minimal restrictions on accessing or reviewing those records, then I think Mr. Snowden has done a considerable public service by bringing it to light."[71]

Some US politicians have called for the arrest of Edward Snowden. These include senator and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Dianne Feinstein (D-CA),[72] senator and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC),[73] Bill Nelson (D-FL), and John Thune (R-SD);[74][70] Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH),[75] House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA),[76] Representative and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers (R-MI),[77] and Representatives Peter King (R-NY),[78] Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL),[79] and Charlie Dent (R-PA).[80]

Peter King, formerly the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, called for Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong.[81] He also called for journalist Glenn Greenwald to be arrested.[82]

Press and public

American media theorist, author and CNN columnist, Douglas Rushkoff, wrote that Snowden's leak was an "act of heroism."[83] Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and security specialist who has written extensively on surveillance and privacy, remarked "I consider Snowden a hero for whistleblowing ... but not for revealing specific operational secrets to the Chinese government.."[84] Commenting broadly on Snowden's actions, he wrote that "whistle-blowing is the moral response to immoral activity by those in power [...] If you see something, say something. There are many people in the U.S. that will appreciate and admire you."[85]

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."[86] John Cassidy, also of The New Yorker, called Snowden "a hero," saying "he uncovered questionable activities that those in power would rather have kept secret." "In revealing the colossal scale of the U.S. government's eavesdropping on Americans and other people around the world, he has performed a great public service that more than outweighs any breach of trust he may have committed."[87]

In a FoxNews.com column headlined "Why Americans should thank Edward Snowden," Robert Romano of Americans for Limited Government said Snowden is responsible for exposing a "web of surveillance... where all communications, public and private, are being stored in a government database for later use, and when it is used against the people, there is no recourse."[88]

Other commentators have been more critical of Snowden's methods and motivations,[89] and some have expressed particular concern about his seeking refuge in Hong Kong.[90][91] For instance, New York Times columnist David Brooks accused Snowden of betraying the Constitution, stating that "the founders did not create the United States so that some solitary 29-year-old could make unilateral decisions about what should be exposed."[92] In response Amy Davidson said "This is an odd perspective" because the Founding Fathers of the United States created the Constitution to allow a "solitary voice" to be heard despite any power structures and "they would not want a twenty-nine-year-old to feel so overcome with gratitude for his social betters—so humbled that they had noticed him—that he would be silent."[93]

Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker, though conceding that whistle-blowers are indispensable to a society with a free press, characterizes Snowden's approach as "reckless." saying that "all of Snowden's secrets may wind up in the hands of the Chinese government—which has no commitment at all to free speech or the right to political dissent."[94] James Fallows wrote that "if Snowden thinks, as some of his comments seem to suggest, that he has found a bastion of freer speech [in Hong Kong], then he is ill-informed; and if he knowingly chose to make his case from China he is playing a more complicated game."[90] Matt Schiavenza, associate editor at The Atlantic, called Snowden's decision to go to Hong Kong a "serious miscalculation," particularly if the Beijing government decided to try to use him as an intelligence asset.[95]

Hours after Snowden revealed his identity, a We the People petition[96] was posted[97] on the White House website, asking for "a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes [Snowden] has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs."[98][99] The petition had gathered more than 80,000 signatures on June 17, 2013.[100]

An Avaaz petition asking a pardon for Snowden received almost 900,000 signatures by June 14, 2013.[101]

Response from China and Hong Kong

File:Statue of Liberty attacks flag of China.jpg
Image attached to an opinion piece from the state funded China Internet Information Center, showing a rat grabbing at a Flag of China while dressed as a Statue of Liberty

Although Hong Kong newspapers speculated about Snowden's future in the territory, and there were reports from Chinese official media such as CCTV,[102][103][104] and People's Daily.[105] In addition, some major news websites in China have built special report pages.[106] The state-run English language newspaper China Daily noted that Snowden's revelations would strain Sino-American relations and quotes Li Haidong, a researcher of American studies at China Foreign Affairs University who said, "For months, Washington has been accusing China of cyberespionage, but it turns out that the biggest threat to the pursuit of individual freedom and privacy in the US is the unbridled power of the government".[107] Xu Peixi, a columnist from China Internet Information Center wrote in English that “we appreciate and salute the efforts of Snowden et al, who have gambled their career, family, personal freedom, and even their life to let the global public know what the most powerful force in the world is doing with perhaps the central infrastructure of our age; to make the public aware that this force is acting in an unconstitutional manner and entirely contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."[108] Xu's column is also accompanied by a political cartoon depicting a rat dressed as a Statue of Liberty while grabbing at a Flag of China, and denounced the "one-sided" cyber attack accusations which the United States has "poured upon China".[108]

On June 15, Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung said: "When the relevant mechanism is activated, the Hong Kong SAR government will handle the case of Mr Snowden in accordance with the laws and established procedures of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the government will follow up on any incidents related to the privacy or other rights of the institutions or people in Hong Kong being violated."[109] Hong Kong politician Albert Ho also said: "It's unlawful, unjustified and unscrupulous … We demand the whole truth be disclosed by the US administration, an unconditional apology from [President Barack] Obama and an assurance this interference will stop."[110]

Hong Kong pan-democrat legislators Gary Fan and Claudia Mo said that "a dangerous precedent and will likely be used to justify similar actions" if Snowden is prosecuted.[111] An editorial in Hong Kong freesheet The Standard observed that the CPC tabloid Global Times has run its third editorial in support of Snowden. It also noted that the pan-democrats and pro-establishment camp were apparently in a rare confluence over the issue.[112]

Hong Kong demonstration at US Consulate on June 15 in support of Snowden

Several hundred Hong Kong residents gathered on June 15 to support Snowden and to voice their opposition to US surveillance policies.[110] Also on that date, a poll conducted in Hong Kong and reported in the South China Morning Post showed that half of the 509 respondents believed the Chinese government should not surrender Snowden to the United States if Washington raises such a request. According to the poll, 33 per cent of Hong Kong residents think of Snowden as a hero, 12.8 per cent described him as a traitor, 23 per cent described him as "something in between", and the remainder said they could not comment.[113]

On June 20, 2013 Mandy Zuo of the South China Morning Post said that a People's Daily editorial from June 19 stated that the Beijing government is unwilling to be involved in a "mess" caused by others and a June 19 commentary from the Global Times stated that the Hong Kong government should follow the public opinion, "be more spontaneous" and not concern itself with [[Sino-US relations].[114] A Tsinghua University communications studies specialist, Liu Jianming, argued that the two articles suggested that the PRC government does not want further involvement in the Snowden case and wants the HKSAR government to handle it.[114]

Political views

Snowden's laptop displays stickers supporting internet freedom organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tor Project.[6]

In the 2008 presidential election, Snowden said he voted for third-party candidates. He said he "believed in Obama's promises," yet "[Obama] continued with the policies of his predecessor."[34] For the 2012 election, political donation records indicate that he contributed to the primary campaign of Ron Paul.[115]

Personal life

Having worked at a US military base in Japan, Snowden reportedly had a deep interest in Japanese popular culture and studied the Japanese language.[116] He also has a basic understanding of Mandarin, was deeply interested in martial arts, and listed Buddhism as his religion.[117] Snowden had previously visited Hong Kong while vacationing with his girlfriend.[118]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Ackerman, Spencer (June 10, 2013). "Edward Snowden failed in attempt to join US army's elite special forces unit". The Guardian. Retrieved June 10, 2013. The army did confirm Snowden's date of birth: June 21, 1983.
  2. ^ "Edward Snowden, leaker of U.S. spy program documents, faces hard choices while in hiding". CBS News. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Gellman, Barton; Markon, Jerry (June 9, 2013). "Edward Snowden says motive behind leaks was to expose 'surveillance state'". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Gellman, Barton; Blake, Aaron; Miller, Greg (June 9, 2013). "Edward Snowden comes forward as source of NSA leaks". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  5. ^ Smith, Matt (June 9, 2013). "NSA leaker comes forward, warns of agency's 'existential threat'". CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Greenwald, Glenn; MacAskill, Ewen; Poitras, Laura (June 9, 2013). Written at Hong Kong. "Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "New Leak Indicates U.S. and Britain Eavesdropped at '09 World Conferences". The New York Times. June 16, 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Tracy, Connor (June 10, 2013). "What we know about NSA leaker Edward Snowden". NBC News.
  9. ^ Itkowitz, Colby; Sheehan, Daniel Patrick (June 10, 2013). "Edward Snowden's father, stepmother plan to make public statement". The Morning Call.
  10. ^ Toppo, Greg (June 10, 2013). "Former neighbor remembers Snowden as 'nice kid'". USA Today.
  11. ^ a b "Profile: Edward Snowden". BBC News. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Leger, Donna Leinwand (June 9, 2013). "NSA contractor: 'I know I have done nothing wrong'". USA Today. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  13. ^ Page 3 of 3 (June 13, 2013). "U.S. Fears Edward Snowden May Defect to China: Sources". ABC News. Retrieved June 19, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Edward Snowden's Father Speaks Out To Fox About Media 'Misinformation,' Asks Son To Stop Leaking". Mediaite. May 26, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  15. ^ Malkin, Bonnie (June 11, 2013). "Edward Snowden's girlfriend revealed to be former ballet dancer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  16. ^ a b JOHN M. BRODER and SCOTT SHANE (June 15, 2013). "For Snowden, a Life of Ambition, Despite the Drifting". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Leger, Donna Leinwand (June 10, 2013). "Who is NSA whisteblower Edward Snowden?". USA Today.
  18. ^ "Edward Snowden: Ex-CIA worker comes forward as leaker, says he was protecting 'basic liberties'". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  19. ^ Memmott, Mark (June 10, 2013). "Who Is Edward Snowden, The Self-Styled NSA Leaker?". NPR.
  20. ^ Der Sonntag and SonntagsBlick newspapers[which?]
  21. ^ Reuters, Swiss president would back criminal probe against NSA leaker, June 16, 2013
  22. ^ "NSA Implementing 'Two-Person' Rule To Stop The Next Edward Snowden". Forbes. April 18, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  23. ^ "Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information". June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  24. ^ Borger, Julian (June 9, 2013). "Booz Allen Hamilton: Edward Snowden's U.S. contracting firm". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  25. ^ Gertz, Bill (June 13, 2013). "Officials Worried Snowden Will Pass Secrets to Chinese". Washington Free Beacon. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Edward Snowden: NSA whistleblower answers reader questions | World news". The Guardian. June 14, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  27. ^ Bacon, John. "Contractor fires Snowden from $122,000 per-year job". USA Today. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  28. ^ Golgowski, Nina (June 11, 2013). "NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden FIRED from $122,000 per-year job with defense contractor Booz Hamilton". Daily News. New York. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  29. ^ a b Greenwald, Glenn (July 17, 2013). "Edward Snowden Q&A: Dick Cheney traitor charge is 'the highest honor'". The Guardian.
  30. ^ a b Carmon, Irin (June 10, 2013). "How we broke the NSA story". Salon. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  31. ^ "Board of Directors". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
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