Snowden is still in contact with Russian intelligence, House report charges

[DonViejo]

Source: Yahoo News

Michael Isikoff
Chief Investigative Correspondent

December 22, 2016

Newly declassified passages from a highly critical House Intelligence Committee report on Edward Snowden assert that since arriving in Moscow the former NSA contractor “has had, and continues to have, contact with Russian intelligence services.”

Minutes after the report was released Thursday, Snowden’s chief lawyer, Ben Wizner, tweeted that the report was “petulant nonsense.” Snowden has adamantly denied such contacts, most recently this month in an interview with Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric. Snowden told Couric he gave Russian officials “the stiff-arm” when they first approached him in 2013, and that since then, while living with President Vladimir Putin’s approval as a fugitive in Moscow, “they have left me alone, for the most part.”

The panel’s newly declassified 33-page report, which is being released this morning, cites classified U.S. intelligence reporting to support its assertion of continuous contacts with Russian intelligence — an especially explosive charge in light of the current uproar in Washington over Russian interference in the U.S. election.

But all details of that intelligence reporting are still classified and blacked out in the report, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the public to assess. The charge comes at a time when Snowden’s defenders — who portray him as a courageous whistleblower who exposed U.S. surveillance abuses — are making their final, uphill pitch for a pardon before President Obama leaves office.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/snowden-is-still-in-contact-with-russian-intelligence-house-report-charges-143645123.html

[hrmjustin]

1. I don't believe Snowden nor Trust him.

[truebluegreen]

32. I don't believe the House Intelligence Committee or trust it/them.

The people who brought us Benghazi Benghazi Benghazi!

Strange company.

[hrmjustin]

34. I don't trust them either.

[Equinox Moon]

2. I completely believe Snowden and trust him.

He has been consistent from the beginning and his actions were in service to Americans and subsequently the rest of the world.

Great man! Courageous man! Thank you Snowden.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

6. Brave, just like Sir Robin.

Brave Sir Snowden ran away.
Bravely ran away, away!
When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Sir Snowden turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Sir Snowden!

[KittyWampus]

11. Which Snowden? The one who loves guns and hates Social Security, Obama and whistleblowers?

Or the Snowden who was a "whistleblower" who stole classified material, gave it to Greenwald who then times releases to embarrass Obama and who ultimately fled to the Russian embassy in Hong Kong and then on to Russia?

[LanternWaste]

17. He does appear to posses the courage to flee to Moscow and hide.

He does appear to posses the courage to flee to Moscow and hide.

[Generator]

21. You do know he was on route to South America

when the US government took away his passport and he was stranded in Moscow? He didn't choose Russia but Russia chose him. I do think he may be compromised greatly now-I don't know how he couldn't be in Putin's Russia. But as most here on a liberal site thinks he's the enemy-I do not. I think he's naive. He will never leave Russia-if he does he will be executed by the United States or it's spooks of that I have no doubt. Torture if he comes back and Trump stated publicly he wants him executed.

[Adrahil]

24. He no loner has an excuse to be naive.

He's been Putin's tool for several years now, and he has seen Putin's succesful attemps to undermine American d mocacy. No excuse for any further "naivete."

[ronnie624]

30. A person can be courageous and still fear spending the rest of their life in a dungeon.

The underlying premise for your comment, is that being regarded as courageous, demands an ultimate sacrifice, like one's life or freedom. But that is obviously false. There are many examples of heroism, that did not end in death. Snowden assumed great risk in his actions and gained nothing in return, and he very eloquently explains why he did it.

The glaring lack of logic in your words, says you are the one who is truly biased.

[2naSalit]

3. How thin the claims need to be anymore...

I'm not claiming to be a supporter or detractor of Snowden but I must say that thin claims are all one needs to demonize an individual who has no ability to defend themselves against such claims thanks to the "new reality nooz" we are subjected to anymore.

I can't imagine that someone with Snowden's skills having found themselves suddenly trapped in Russia to not be regularly contacted by the intel community while in exile there. From these claims, all he has to do is be seen on the same block with some intel personnel and be blamed for a whole host of offensive acts. It's the same shit women who have some secret enemy suffer regularly. Rebuff some guy's advances and the next thing you know, everyone you know thinks you are some despicable being thanks to lies spread from the unwanted admirer... happens every day, and at about once every four to five years to nearly every female.

So there had better be some solid evidence presented rather than innuendo, which has obviously served the establishment so well lately, to convince me that what the claims say is actually containing any truthiness credibility.

[BigDemVoter]

23. Good point.

All I know is what I've read in the newspaper or online, and I am not sure what's true, what's insinuation or conjecture, or what are downright lies.

[HoneyBadger]

4. Hopefully Obama pardons him

[karynnj]

16. I hope that he doesn't

I have seen stuff Snowden stole appear at the worse possible time for Obama's diplomacy. Two quick examples, there were leaks that President Bush had spied on Angela Merkle and that continued under Obama, but had ended - released right before a major meeting of NATO. In spite of Kerry and the German foreign minister working very very well together, this led to a period of rough relations.

I also wonder what might have been if the stuff on spying on Brazil would not have been dropped right before an Organization of American States meeting that was part of Kerry's first tour in Latin America. Kerry was one of the few prominent Americans on record against the coup in Honduras in Obama's first term and was easily the Senator who was most against the US policy of supporting the Contras in the 1980s. Though our relations have improved in the second term - likely because of Cuba and our support for the peace process in Columbia, I wonder if we could have moved further given Obama's positions and Kerry's unique credibility on this relative to other Americans.

Not to mention, Snowden is given credit for exposing that the US stored the phone records on calls made for everyone -- ignoring that this was exposed years earlier and was debated extensively in Congress. The Congress voted to approve parts of this under FISA and even retrocatively gave the phone companies immunity. It was a major topic here. Senator Dodd, then running for President in 2007, said he would fillibuster it. They never got the 41 Senators needed to stop it.

What was new that Snowden exposed was US spying. It was absolutely wrong that the US spied on foreign leaders. Some of this was already known. We knew the US spied on the UN representatives of the Security Council nations in 2002/2003 in the run up to the Iraq War - one reason the US/UK did not return to the UN to get a go ahead to invade. They would have been vetoed.

The fact is he had a security clearance. Even though he should not have had access to all he stole, he did it as an insider. He then exposed those secrets to Russia and China. You may admire him and think he is a hero for doing this in face of the penalties. What disincentive does anyone have from releasing embarrassing information that is classified if he is pardoned?

[think]

5. Amnesty Launches Campaign Urging Obama To Pardon Snowden

https://www.yahoo.com/news/amnesty-launches-campaign-urging-obama-121212573.html

[KittyWampus]

12. LOL! Russian asset should be pardoned. Some people are really that stupid.

[think]

13. It's Amnesty International. They tend to be pretty reputable as an international organization

defending human rights.

[LanternWaste]

18. Much as the ACLU defended Citizens United.

Much as the ACLU defended Citizens United.

No doubt, our biases compel us to rationalize anything which validates them.

[think]

19. Obviously

[Old Vet]

7. Snowden is a TRAITOR ..........

Fuck snowden and Assange..............

[Equinox Moon]

9. No, he isn't.

[onenote]

14. Under the broad definitions of treason some here have been using

he certainly is.

But I think those broad definitions are wrong and have said so repeatedly.

[hrmjustin]

10. Agreed!

[Devil Child]

8. Trump's first act of clemency

Will be pardoning Snowden and Assange.

[Got it]

15. I Support & Trust Snowden

I question the values of those who condemn him.

[blue cat]

26. I question your judgement

I laugh at those who support and trust him.

[brush]

31. How about this. He should have stopped at revealing domestic spying. He didn't however . . .

and revealed details of his own country's covert operations.

Not a hero.

[Blue_Tires]

20. I'm so goddamned tired of continually being proven right about Greenwald and the Snowden fraud

Not that any of my haters will step up and admit it...

[ronnie624]

25. Apparently, you don't know the definition of the word, 'proven'. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

35. I've posted hundreds of links, and don't remember you debunking any...

Here's one more for good measure: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fable-of-edward-snowden-1483143143

Don't be shy -- I want your best effort on this

[blue cat]

28. I'll admit it.

I did a 180 on them. At first it was admiration until I changed my mind over time as I learned more.
Now I believe they are disgusting naive traitors.

[Blue_Tires]

22. Kick

Last edited Sun Jan 1, 2017, 01:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Evidently nobody wants a piece of this story or admit the truth, lol...

I took so much shit from a large part of DU for three goddamned years and now all those morons have vanished without so much as an apology... I told you I would win out in the end.

[Tarheel_Dem]

27. I don't give a shit what happens to that gutless traitor. I don't know why they've escalated their..

pleas for a pardon now, but The Orange One will have to be very careful how he handles this. If he pardons him, he runs the risk of creating even more Snowdens on his watch, and that may not turn out well for him. I'm extremely confident that Obama wouldn't dream of a pardon.

[Thinkingabout]

29. If Snowden would return to the us and surrender, have his day in court, get the sentence if there is

to be one then the earlier in his life he would have this behind him, apparently he does not want to face the charges, he should have used more thought when he decided to steal files, deliver them to China and Russia, bad plan and now he needs to face the music.

[tavernier]

33. What do Snowden's Russian contacts matter

now that Putin's best friend is about to run our country? We will soon be governed by either Russian intelligence or zero intelligence. I predict within a year Old Glory will be replaced by a newer model, designed by the KGOP.

[Generator]

36. So is Trump and he gets to be president

What gives?