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

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...

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

Snowden cites a government program designed to protect whistleblowers; "Presidential Policy Directive 19 -- which set up a system for questioning classified government actions under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence." But as a civilian employee of a contractor he had no such route, those he talked to, he said, gave responses that:

...fell into two camps. "The first were well-meaning but hushed warnings not to 'rock the boat,' for fear of the sort of retaliation that befell former NSA whistleblowers like Wiebe, Binney, and Drake." All three of those men, he notes, were subject to intense scrutiny and the threat of criminal prosecution.

"Everyone in the Intelligence Community is aware of what happens to people who report concerns about unlawful but authorized operations," he said.

For a background on Wiebe, Binney, and Drake:

In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered the FBI to find whoever had disclosed information about the NSA electronic surveillance program and its disclosure in the New York Times. Eventually, this investigation led to the people who had filed the 2002 DoD IG request, even though they had nothing to do with the New York Times disclosure. In 2007, the houses of Roark, Binney, and Wiebe were raided by armed FBI agents. According to Mayer, Binney claims the FBI pointed guns at his head and that of his wife. Wiebe said it reminded him of the Soviet Union.[3][18] None of these people were ever charged with any crime. Four months later, Drake was raided in November 2007 and his computers and documents were confiscated.

(source: Wikipedia - Trailblazer Project

With this track record, it's easy to see why Snowden fled after his disclosure. Nothing has improved. The United States still has no protection in place regarding the NSA, it's systems, and those who are trying to alert us to their capabilities. Here is an opening statement by Snowden to the EU parliament on hearing on "Electronic Mass Surveillance of EU Citizens."

The NSA granted me the authority to monitor communications world-wide using its mass
surveillance systems, including within the United States. I have personally targeted individuals
using these systems under both the President of the United States' Executive Order 12333 and the
US Congress' FAA 702. I know the good and the bad of these systems, and what they can and
cannot do, and I am telling you that without getting out of my chair, I could have read the private
communications of any member of this committee, as well as any ordinary citizen. I swear under
penalty of perjury that this is true.

These are not the capabilities in which free societies invest. Mass surveillance violates our
rights, risks our safety, and threatens our way of life.

(What Europe Should Know about US Mass Surveillance)

Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

reply to post by benrl

Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

Or over Putin for that matter... Snowden deserves a peace prize but EU governments are too cowed by the US to even give Snowden amnesty.

benrl
Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

Exactly.


How can the whistle blower system work if the people you are whistle blowing on are the ones in charge of the whistle blower in place?

Illegal and dam right dodgy stuff has gone on. If people are stonewalled and blocked from the legal system can you really blame them for bypassing them?

benrl
Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

Snowden sold out all of us for the benefit of both China and Russia. It's rather naive to not see him for what he is ... a traitor.

And where is he now? All cozied up with Putin. You think the Russian deserves a Peace Prize for his invasion of Ukraine too? LOL

reply to post by Snarl


Sold us out to Russia and China?

The information concerned us not China or Russia. And all the documents he had were given to a Brit working for the guardian first. Not the Chinese or Russians.

Last I checked the information showed the ridiculous and privacy invading measures our governments are taking!

We deserved to know what our governments are bloody well doing!


But I guess your a good little government drone that supports the tyrannical invasion of privacy we are all subjected too.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


The NSA a TRUE bureaucracy in motion. See definition of bureaucracy from wiki.

A bureaucracy is "a body of nonelective government officials" and/or "an administrative policy-making group."[1] Historically, bureaucracy referred to government administration managed by departments staffed with nonelected officials.[2] In modern parlance, bureaucracy refers to the administrative system governing any large institution.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Since being coined, the word "bureaucracy" has developed negative connotations for some.[9] Bureaucracies are criticized for their complexity, their inefficiency, and their inflexibility.[10] The dehumanizing effects of excessive bureaucracy were a major theme in the work of Franz Kafka, and were central to his masterpiece The Trial.[11] The elimination of unnecessary bureaucracy is a key concept in modern managerial theory,[12] and has been a central issue in numerous political campaigns.[13]

Since Snowden had stolen information he should have no problem showing his paperwork he filed when he made these "concerns" about the NSA programs.

crazyewok
reply to post by Snarl

 

But I guess your a good little government drone that supports the tyrannical invasion of privacy we are all subjected too.

There's not a country on Earth that's not employing folks in the second oldest profession.

And ... no ... I'm not the least bit concerned that some of the information which can be related to me is swept up in that process. They can't 'do' anything with it. As soon as my citizenship is identified it is subject to stringent handling procedures. 99.99% of the time it has to be purged before it's subject to any analysis whatsoever.

You oughta be happy you're from the UK. You get 'some' protections as well.

ETA: Of course Snowden's not gonna tell you that. He's a mudslinger and a sissy.

Snarl

benrl
S It's rather naive to not see him for what he is ... a traitor.

The traitors would be the ones that support Soviet Style Spying Tactics on anyone and everyone.
They are paranoid of their own shadows.

I say we deport those people to Russia where they would feel more at home in trade for bringing Snowden back here.

Snarl

benrl
Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

Snowden sold out all of us for the benefit of both China and Russia. It's rather naive to not see him for what he is ... a traitor.

And where is he now? All cozied up with Putin. You think the Russian deserves a Peace Prize for his invasion of Ukraine too? LOL

edit on 732014 by Snarl because: autocorrect

The only way Snowden is a traitor, is if the enemy of the government is the American people.

He is the reason we know for a fact that the 4th does not exist in any form digitally.

Blackmarketeer
reply to post by benrl

 

Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

Or over Putin for that matter... Snowden deserves a peace prize but EU governments are too cowed by the US to even give Snowden amnesty.

But Snowden is not wanted by the EU, and he is being given a hearing, no matter what play to put on it. He is only wanted by the US.

IMO, Snowden has done us all a big favour, mass surveillance, and profiteering is wrong, and he has not 'sold out' the US as someone else has said, this is not solely a US affair.

reply to post by Snarl


"some" is bloody well not good enough.

Unless a warrant backed up with evidence is issue NO information should be collected on me, period!


Yeah the system MAY be working great now. But the whole thing is open to corruption and misuse.

A bad government in either of our country's could use such a system to do a lot of harm.

The potential for Miss use is too high.

Plus
1) The governments kept it secret from the public in the first place
2) There doesn't seen to be any transparent procedures to prevent abuse of the system.

If our government had been open about it in the first place and there was a open and well and strong system in place to prevent abuse now and in the future MAYBE I would be more sympathetic to PRISM. But the government have lost my trust, ESPECIALLY with the 1st point.

Recall the John F Kennedy speech if you will directed toward the Soviet Union:

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.


"For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence--on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.

"No President should fear public scrutinity of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary

It sounds like JFK is talking about our country today.

reply to post by Snarl


My, how statist.

I have no opinion on Snowden as a person. I think Greenwald is playing a game I am not certain that it isn't all a charade, soup to nuts.

But I know for certain that if the program exists as told, there is no way in hell that all the "rules" you hear about are followed. 0% chance.

RE: the OP, i am not sure the EU is really any authority on personal freedom or privacy.

Snarl


Snowden sold out all of us for the benefit of both China and Russia. It's rather naive to not see him for what he is ... a traitor.

And where is he now? All cozied up with Putin. You think the Russian deserves a Peace Prize for his invasion of Ukraine too? LOL

edit on 732014 by Snarl because: autocorrect

You're out of time man, and make the case for Ukraine being invaded it hasn't, Crimea is a semi-autonomous state. So whatever special status Crimea has, you cannot construe a Ukraine invasion.

jacobe001
Recall the John F Kennedy speech if you will directed toward the Soviet Union:

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.


"For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence--on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.

"No President should fear public scrutinity of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary

It sounds like JFK is talking about our country today.

You hit the nail on the head.
It seems some presidents that came after thought that the 'Monolith' was a good idea and just built apon it, brick after brick, destroying Kennedy's good ideology. Those presidents are the ones who should be in the dock, not Snowden.

jacobe001
Recall the John F Kennedy speech if you will directed toward the Soviet Union:

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.


"For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence--on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.

"No President should fear public scrutinity of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary

It sounds like JFK is talking about our country today.

Wow, truly a prophetic quote, somewhere between then and now we did a 180° turn. It's what happens when you put the values and interests of corporations ahead of people.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

RE: the OP, i am not sure the EU is really any authority on personal freedom or privacy.

I wasn't making any claim regarding the EU either way, I was only referencing the EU hearing Snowden gave that opening statement to.

Snarl

benrl
Shuts up people that said "Why didn't he follow chain of command" He did, they ignored him.

Snowden deserves a Nobel over Obama any day of the week.

Snowden sold out all of us for the benefit of both China and Russia. It's rather naive to not see him for what he is ... a traitor.

And where is he now? All cozied up with Putin. You think the Russian deserves a Peace Prize for his invasion of Ukraine too? LOL

edit on 732014 by Snarl because: autocorrect

Wow.... You sound like even more of a traitor than he ever could. Either that or you're completely blind to the reality of what this country is.

Snowden should be made president. He gives more shhits about the constitution than you and all our "elected" officials combined.