Snowden's Lawbreaking: A Breach Of Trust

Edward Snowden is a former NSA intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents in 2013, revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Snowden was subsequently charged with espionage by the US government and fled the country. He is wanted in the US and could serve up to 30 years in prison for violating the Espionage Act of 1917.

Snowden's actions have been the subject of much debate, with some arguing that he is a hero for exposing human rights abuses and changing laws to protect privacy, and others claiming that he is un-American and caused harm to national security.

Snowden himself has said that he is confident about the positive impact of his disclosures, stating in a 2019 interview: We live in a better, freer and safe world because of the revelations of mass surveillance.

Edward Snowden broke the Espionage Act of 1917

Snowden, an American-Russian former NSA intelligence contractor and whistleblower, leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. He disclosed thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists, revealing numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

In June 2013, the United States Department of Justice charged Snowden with two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property. Specifically, Snowden was charged with “unauthorized communication of national defense information" and “willful communication of classified intelligence with an unauthorized person".

Snowden's actions have been the subject of controversy, with some praising him as a hero and others condemning him as un-American. Snowden himself has said that he felt compelled to act and expose official bad acts, enabling debate and reform. He has also stated that he carefully selected which documents to disclose and conceal, and that he gave them to a newspaper with a team of editors and journalists.

The Espionage Act of 1917 has been criticised as vague and overbroad, and it has a long history of suppressing legitimate dissent. The law was originally designed to prosecute spies bringing military secrets back home, but it has been used against whistleblowers who release information that they believe is in the American interest. Snowden's case exemplifies the many hurdles whistleblowers can face when stepping forward, and it highlights the need for stronger legal protections for those who expose misconduct.

He exposed the US government's violation of privacy

Edward Snowden exposed the US government's violation of privacy by revealing the existence of global surveillance programs run by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

Snowden's disclosures revealed that the NSA was harvesting millions of email and instant messaging contact lists, searching email content, tracking and mapping the location of cell phones, undermining attempts at encryption, and using cookies to piggyback on the same tools used by internet advertisers to "pinpoint targets for government hacking and bolster surveillance."

Snowden's revelations also showed that the NSA was secretly accessing Yahoo and Google data centers to collect information from hundreds of millions of account holders worldwide by tapping undersea cables. The NSA was also shown to be tracking the online sexual activity of people they termed "radicalizers" in order to discredit them.

Snowden argued that he had a moral obligation to act and that he had a duty to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them. He further stated that the government's violation of privacy had to be exposed regardless of legality.

Many agreed with Snowden, including Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project, who defended his actions as ethical, arguing that he acted from a sense of public good. Radack said, "Snowden may have violated a secrecy agreement, which is not a loyalty oath but a contract, and a less important one than the social contract a democracy has with its citizenry."

In 2020, an appeals court found that the NSA's warrantless telephone dragnet that secretly collected millions of Americans' telephone records violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and may have been unconstitutional. Snowden said of the ruling, "I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA's activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them."

Snowden leaked classified information

Edward Snowden, an American-Russian former NSA intelligence contractor and whistleblower, leaked classified information in 2013, exposing the existence of global surveillance programs. Snowden's disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many of which were run by the NSA and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, in cooperation with telecommunication companies and European governments.

Snowden's actions were deemed controversial, with some praising him as a hero and others condemning him for his leaks. Snowden defended his actions as an effort to inform the public about what was being done in their name and against them. He claimed that he tried to raise ethical concerns through internal channels but was ignored.

Snowden was indicted for espionage and charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property. He fled to Hong Kong and later to Russia, where he was granted asylum and, later, citizenship.

In 2019, the United States filed a lawsuit against Snowden, alleging that he published a book and gave public speeches on intelligence-related matters in violation of his non-disclosure agreements with the CIA and NSA. The lawsuit sought to recover the proceeds earned by Snowden due to his failure to submit his work for pre-publication review. The court ruled in favor of the United States, imposing a constructive trust for the benefit of the government over the monies derived by Snowden from his book and speeches.

Snowden's actions sparked a global debate about national security and individual privacy and changed how people think about digital communications and surveillance.

He was charged with theft of government property

On June 21, 2013, the United States Department of Justice charged Edward Snowden with two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property. The charges were unsealed a week later.

The theft of government property charge was related to Snowden's alleged violation of non-disclosure agreements with the CIA and NSA. In 2019, the United States filed a lawsuit against Snowden, alleging that he had breached his contractual and fiduciary obligations by publishing his book, *Permanent Record*, and giving public speeches on intelligence-related matters without submitting them for pre-publication review.

The lawsuit did not seek to restrict the publication or distribution of *Permanent Record*. Instead, the government sought to recover all proceeds earned by Snowden, citing the Supreme Court precedent, *Snepp v. United States*. In 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in favor of the government, imposing a constructive trust for the benefit of the United States over the monies earned by Snowden from his book and 56 specific speeches, totaling over $5.2 million.

Snowden has defended his actions as an effort "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." He has also argued that the Espionage Act is unconstitutional and vague, suppressing legitimate dissent rather than prosecuting spies. Snowden's legal representative, Jesselyn Radack, has stated that the Espionage Act hinders a person's ability to defend themselves in an open court.

Snowden fled the US and sought asylum in Russia

In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.K.'s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Following this, Snowden was charged with espionage by the U.S. government and fled the country, seeking asylum in Russia.

Snowden's actions have been the subject of much debate, with supporters claiming he is a hero for exposing NSA surveillance and detractors accusing him of being un-American. Snowden himself has expressed confidence about the positive impact of his disclosures, stating in a 2019 interview with The Guardian that "we live in a better, freer and safe world because of the revelations of mass surveillance."

After leaking the documents, Snowden flew to Hong Kong, where he remained for some time before his passport was revoked by U.S. authorities. He then boarded a flight to Moscow, with the intention of seeking asylum in Ecuador. However, he became stranded in Russia when his U.S. passport was revoked, and he was restricted to the transit zone of the airport for over a month.

Russia eventually granted Snowden asylum, and he has since been granted permanent residency and, as of 2022, Russian citizenship. Snowden has expressed a desire to return to the U.S. and has applied for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship, citing his wish to be reunited with his family.

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