memeorandum: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things'

5:15 AM ET, June 10, 2013

Top Items:

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations — The 29-year-old source behind the biggest intelligence leak in the NSA's history explains his motives, his uncertain future and why he never intended on hiding in the shadows — • Q&A with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden …

Discussion: Doug Ross, The Caucus, Good Gear Guide, The Sun, Yahoo! News, China Real Time Report, Informed Comment, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, The Huffington Post, FP Passport, USA Today, RT, Daily Mail, Mediaite, BBC, PoliticusUSA, Business Insider, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Impolitic, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NO QUARTER USA NET, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, The Dish, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, Telegraph, Balloon Juice, Firedoglake, Forbes, CANNONFIRE, Daily Kos, Hit & Run, Vox Popoli, News Desk, Runnin' Scared, Little Green Footballs, Lawfare, Fox News Insider, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Instapundit, American Power, Wired, msnbc.com, Scared Monkeys, The Hinterland Gazette, GigaOM, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Power Line, The Daily Caller, Mashable, U.S. News, AllThingsD, Gawker, emptywheel, Liberal Values, Althouse, Whiskey Fire, Engadget and LewRockwell.com Blog, more at Mediagazer »

The Atlantic Online:

Edward Snowden in Hong Kong — I'm glad we have this information; I am sorry we are getting it from Hong Kong. — Three points: — 1) I believe what I wrote two days ago: that the United States and the world have gained much more, in democratic accountability, than they have lost …

Discussion: Washington Post, Pressing Issues and Talking Points Memo

Guardian:

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower answers the essential questions on the biggest leak in NSA history — Source for the Guardian's NSA files on why he carried out the biggest intelligence leak in a generation - and what comes next — Edward Snowden was interviewed over several days in Hong Kong by Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, China Real Time Report, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, The Daily Banter, The Gateway Pundit, Obsidian Wings, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Talking Points Memo, Telegraph, The Hill, Yahoo! News, The Daily Caller, The Verge, Mediaite, BBC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and TechCrunch

Booz Allen Hamilton:

Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information — Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, has been an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking …

Discussion: Guardian, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, Firedoglake, Forbes, Engadget, New York Times and Hit & Run

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

What's the Deal with Hong Kong? — Having given some initial reactions to the Snowden revelation below, let me say a bit more about Snowden's decision to go to Hong Kong. — Let's start by saying that the US has very long arms when it comes to seeking the extradition of people who've broken the laws at quite Snowden's scale.

Discussion: Guardian and Business Insider

Washington Post:

Edward Snowden identified as source of NSA leaks — Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old system administrator and former undercover CIA employee, unmasked himself Sunday as the principal source of recent Washington Post and Guardian disclosures about top-secret NSA programs, denouncing what he described …

Discussion: Wonkblog, Little Green Footballs, Politico, Lawfare, Patterico's Pontifications, Post Politics and The Reaction, more at Mediagazer »

Guardian:

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things' - video — The source behind the Guardian's NSA files talks to Glenn Greenwald about his motives for the biggest intelligence leak in a generation

Discussion: Democracy in America, The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, Hullabaloo, emptywheel and The Huffington Post

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

DOJ launches criminal probe of NSA leaker — The Justice Department on Sunday confirmed that it is conducting a criminal investigation into the leak of classified information detailing the National Security Agency's phone and internet surveillance programs.

Discussion: Politico

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

NSA leaker reveals self, has no apologies — The former CIA employee who leaked details about classified secret surveillance programs to the Guardian and the Washington Post revealed himself in a story published Sunday, saying that he has no apologies for his actions.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and americanthinker.com

Charlie Spiering / Washington Examiner:
Edward Snowden: I mistakenly believed in Obama's promises

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Guardian

Peggy Noonan's Blog:

The Era of Metadata — Five blunt thoughts on the growing surveillance state: — 1. The thing political figures fear most is a terror event that will ruin their careers. The biggest thing they fear is that a bomb goes off and it can be traced to something they did or didn't do, an action they did or didn't support.

BBC:

Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59 — Author Iain Banks has died aged 59, two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, his family has said. — The Scottish writer revealed in April he was suffering from terminal gall bladder cancer and was unlikely to live for more than a year.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Verge and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Evan McMurry / Mediaite:

Rand Paul Tells Fox Viewers To Join Lawsuit Against NSA: 'I'm Going To Challenge This At The Supreme Court' — Kentucky Senator Rand Paul took to Fox News Sunday to declare his legal opposition to the NSA's surveillance programs. “I'm going to be seeing if I can challenge this at the Supreme Court level,” Paul said.

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Politico and Taylor Marsh

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Paul weighs Supreme Court challenge to NSA surveillance programs

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review, CNN, Politico and The PJ Tatler

CNN:

Santa Monica shooting victim dies, bring toll to 5 — Shooting at Santa Monica College — Santa Monica, California (CNN) — [Breaking News Update] — Marcela Franco, 26, has died from wounds suffered when she was shot, along with her father, in an SUV near Santa Monica College on Friday …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, PJ Media and The Week

Kelly Ayotte:

Op-ed: Why I'm backing legislation to fix our broken immigration system — Everybody agrees that America's immigration system is broken, threatening our security and holding back our economy. The combination of porous borders and lax enforcement has made us a magnet for illegal immigration.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Pirate's Cove, ThinkProgress, First Read and Outside the Beltway