http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/305929-snowden-us-cant-cover-up-nsa-programs-by-jailing-or-murdering-meSnowden: US can’t cover up programs by jailing or murdering me
By Jeremy Herb - 06/17/13 11:20 AM ET
NSA leaker Edward Snowden said Monday that the United States can’t cover up its NSA surveillance activities by “by jailing or murdering me.”
“Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped,” Snowden wrote in a Q&A posted on The Guardian website Monday morning.
In the Q&A moderated by Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, Snowden said that he left for Hong Kong because the U.S. government had destroyed any possibility that he would receive a fair trial.
"The U.S. government, just as they did with other whistleblowers, immediately and predictably destroyed any possibility of a fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason and that the disclosure of secret, criminal, and even unconstitutional acts is an unforgivable crime," he wrote. "That's not justice, and it would be foolish to volunteer yourself to it if you can do more good outside of prison than in it."
He defended leaking documents to Greenwald and the Washington Post that revealed the NSA’s programs collecting telephone and online records, arguing he did nothing that put people at harm.
“Let's be clear: I did not reveal any U.S. operations against legitimate military targets,” Snowden said. “I pointed out where the NSA has hacked civilian infrastructure such as universities, hospitals, and private businesses because it is dangerous. These nakedly, aggressively criminal acts are wrong no matter the target.”
The whereabouts of Snowden, a 29-year-old former CIA employee and Booz Allen Hamilton contractor, remain unknown since he revealed himself last week in Hong Kong as the source of the NSA leaks.
Snowden has come under heavy criticism from U.S. lawmakers, with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), former Vice President Dick Cheney, and Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), all labeling him a traitor. He was also fired from Booz Allen Hamilton, his most recent employer.
