MarketWatch
18 Sep 2019, 05:53 GMT+10
Edward Snowden says he'd like to return to the U.S. - on one condition.
That's what the former National Security Agency contractor told CBS News in an interview that aired Monday on "CBS This Morning." Snowden has been living in exile in Russia since leaking classified information about the government's mass surveillance of U.S. citizens in 2013.
"I would like to return to the United States," Snowden told CBS. "That is the ultimate goal. But if I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that is the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won't provide access to what's called a public interest defense."
That type of defense would allow a jury to consider Snowden's motivations, which he says the government opposes.
"It's not hard to make the argument that I broke the law," he admitted to CBS, but said the government has not shown how his leaks caused harm. "They never show evidence for it even though we're now more than six years on, it would be the easiest thing in the world to show."
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that the NSA was considering shutting down the once-secret surveillance program that he exposed because it lacks operational value.
In a separate interview aired Monday on MSNBC's "The 11th Hour" with Brian Williams, Snowden said he was trying to "reform," not destroy, the NSA.
Snowden, now a privacy advocate, added that he was alarmed by how governments and companies can now access vast amounts of personal data through digital devices such as cell phones.
"Anything you can do on that device, the attacker - in this case, the government - can do," Snowden told MSNBC. "They can read your e-mail, they can collect every document, they can look at your contact book, they can turn the location services on."
"They can see anything that is on that phone instantly," he said, "and send it back home to the mothership."
Not coincidentally, Snowden has a new memoir, "Permanent Record," coming out Tuesday.
Source: MarketWatch
Photo Credit: Getty
Get a daily dose of Belgium Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Belgium Sun.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Tánaiste Simon Harris has called on the United States to use every hour to reach a zero-for-zero tariff agreement...
DUBLIN, Ireland: A blind woman from Dublin says she was hurt while getting off a bus because the driver refused to pull in close to...
DUBLIN, Ireland: The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has warned that there could be a serious trolley crisis this summer...
ISTANBUL/PARIS/BRUSSELS: As searing temperatures blanket much of Europe, wildfires are erupting and evacuation orders are being issued...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, weighed down by growing concerns over Washington's fiscal outlook...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...