C.I.A. Disputes Early Suspicions on Snowden

[struggle4progress]

By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: October 11, 2013

WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. said Friday that it did not suspect Edward J. Snowden of gaining access to computer files without authorization when he was working as a technician for the agency in Geneva in 2009, and did not send him home as a result.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Mr. Snowden’s supervisor in Geneva wrote a derogatory report in his personnel file, noting a distinct change in the young man’s behavior and work habits, as well as a troubling suspicion about how he was using his computer.

The Times cited two senior American officials with direct knowledge of the episode who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the continuing criminal inquiry into thousands of classified documents Mr. Snowden leaked four years later, when he was a contractor for the National Security Agency.

Asked repeatedly for comment over the past several weeks, most recently on Thursday, the C.I.A. declined. But on Friday, the C.I.A. responded with a statement, the first public acknowledgment that Mr. Snowden had worked for the agency ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/us/cia-disputes-early-suspicions-on-snowden.html?_r=0