Edward Snowden Denies Taking NSA Documents to Russia

Pawas Manandhar,

Correspondent (North America)

 

NEW YORK — In a recent interview with the New York Times, Edward Snowden, the whistle-blower and former National Security Agency contractor, has shared that he left all the NSA files in Hong Kong with fellow journalists and that “there’s a zero per cent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents.” Snowden, who is currently in asylum in Russia for a year, has been accused by the US government of providing classified information to Russia and China and is facing charges by the government under the Espionage Act for leaking classified files.

There had been concerns regarding the safety of the leaked files that traveled to Hong Kong with Snowden, as the US officials worried about where the files might end up. In his interview with NYT, the 30-year-old stated that he was concerned over the safety of the journalists and hence hadn’t publicly stated that he no longer had the files. Currently, Snowden resides in Russia.

Snowden stated that it would not be of interest for him or the public to hold on to the files himself: “What would be the unique value of personally carrying another copy of materials onwards?” The interview with NYT was held for several days with the aid of encrypted online mails. In his full interview, Snowden responds to accusations by the US government and high ranking officials, provides reasons for his whistle-blowing and also discusses the international surveillance.

In his interview, Snowden points out the irony in that “you have to report wrongdoing to those most responsible for it” while referring to why he chose to become a whistle-blower. Officials argue that Snowden should have brought his concerns up well inside the NSA but Snowden states that his concerns “would have buried forever” and he would be left “discredited and ruined.” James Risen, author of the NYT article, states: “Mr. Snowden said he had never considered defecting while in Hong Kong, nor in Russia.”

According to the NYT article, NSA spokesperson had not responded to Snowden’s statements.

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