NSA Releases Email Snowden Sent Before Leaks

[struggle4progress]

Source: Time

Zeke J Miller
2:29 PM ET

... The email, dated April 5, 2013—more than a month before he released a trove of secret documents to reporters but after he had already been in contact with them—shows Snowden asking the agency’s lawyers whether Executive Orders can trump federal statute and whether regulations from the Department of Defense or Office of Director of National Intelligence can take precedence over the other. An employee of the general counsel’s office replied to Snowden three days later, answering that executive orders have the force of law but cannot override federal law, and that DOD and ODNI regulations are treated with equal weight. But the email was sent months after his initial contacts with Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald when he first showed interest in leaking documents ...




Read more: http://time.com/137530/nsa-to-release-snowden-email/

[grasswire]

1. 3-2-1.....

The surveillance defenders will be here soon. They have already gobbled this up and spit it out.

I'll wait to see this in context with the other emails that have been requested by NBC through FOIA.

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. But you were the 1st to get here. Oh, did you get this month's issue yet? I know you're a HUGE fan.

[billhicks76]

26. Wow

Who took the time to put that together? They should get paid by NSA or rather one of the myriad, criminal contractors that NSA outsources our tax money too. These guys paychecks depend on Snowden failing. I have an idea...outsource nothing to military/police contractors anymore and then there is no incentive for them to continue their war on the American people.

[grasswire]

38. yeah I think the contracting out has gotten way out of hand.

The NSA even hired 600 contractors to review the report that was going to the Senate Intelligence Committee -- a committee elected to oversee the agencies.

[Tarheel_Dem]

40. Here'$ what a real whi$tleblower think$ of thi$ $orted me$$!

Sibel Edmonds: "Checkbook Journalism & Leaking to the Highest Bidders"

That’s right. A whistleblower breaks the law to obtain 50,000 documents, he flees the country to escape prosecution and jail time, he hands over these 50,000 pages to a handful of individuals in return for their promise to present these documents to the public, six months pass, and the public gets 1% of these documents. But please, wait. This is not all. Far more interesting and troubling things happen meanwhile.

The main wanna-be reporter begins his relentless pursuit of high dollars in return for … for what? In return for exclusive interviews where he would discuss some of this material. In return for a very lucrative book deal where he would expose a few extra pages of these 50,000-page documents. In return for a partnership with and extremely high salary from a Mega Corporation (think 1%) where he would … hmmmm, well, it is not very clear: maybe in return for sitting on and never releasing some of these documents, or, releasing a few select pages?

That’s right. The culprit is able to use his role in the whistleblower case, and his de facto ownership of the whistleblower’s 50,000-page evidence, to gain huge sums of money, fame, a mega corporate position, book and movie deals … yet, making sure that the public would never see more than a few percent of the incriminating evidence.

Of course, secondhand checkbook profiteers tend to be very savvy, able to blow smoke, muddy water, and obscure their real deeds and true personhoods. This particular one is famous for spending years as an ambulance-chasing style attorney, where all he had to do was to write dozens of pages to make cases that were never cases, or make real cases appear as if they never were.

- See more at: http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2013/12/08/checkbook-journalism-leaking-to-the-highest-bidders/#sthash.esuPxh6S.dpuf

[billhicks76]

46. Sibel Is Awesome

Russ Tice was the best guest in BoilingFrogs. He said NSA exists to blackmail our leaders whether the be future presidents or Supreme Court justices.

[Tarheel_Dem]

50. Yeah, but did you hear what Sibel had to say about GG's devotees?

[billhicks76]

65. I prefer to ficus on Russ Tice

As should you. No one is perfect but the people GG is after are evil in my opinion.

[Tarheel_Dem]

82. "Ficus"? Are we delving into plant life now?

[struggle4progress]

11. There is sure t'be a pot o'gold at the far end, if we just follow along as the wee man told us t'do!

[MADem]

24. The email exchange doesn't "help" Snowden. It makes him look like a bit of a liar.

Why didn't Snowden release all of his emails?

And why did he claim he had no "legal recourse" before, if now he's claiming that he did use his chain of command to complain?

This isn't about "surveillance defenders." It's about a guy who thinks that the rules don't apply to him, that he's so cool he doesn't have to follow the established protocols.

And why was he sending this email with one hand and sending emails to Greenwald with the other? Hmmm?

[Cha]

27. "Snowden's Odd Email to the NSA Deepens the Mystery".. sorry, I keep finding

shit.

I give you the brilliant David Corn..

"So you're in the middle of the biggest secrets-blowing caper in the history of the known universe. You're one of a small number of people who have access to the most classified information about the most classified spying programs of the most powerful superpower—and you're swiping tens of thousands of pages of these secrets and preparing to hand them over to journalists. You've already made contact with your recipients—and it was harder than you thought to do so. You've switched jobs, moving from one contractor to another, in order to snatch more of the documents you want revealed to the unknowing public. You're scraping NSA servers. You're watching your back. Oh damn, you are certainly watching your back. You know the people you work for can monitor who gets in and out of the system, and though you are one of the few with the keys to the crypt, you have to be worried—scratch that, paranoid, and rightfully so—that someone's going to wise up. You make a slip—they might be watching right now—and the alarms go off. And it's no more Hawaiian paradise. It's federal prison. But you're committed. You have your plan. You're about to send a security kit to an American reporter who lives in Brazil and works for a British outlet so you can communicate via a safe and encrypted mechanism."


Much MOre..
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/05/snowden-odd-email-nsa

If there is no correspondence to the NSA from ES on what he thought was wrong then this is just going to expose even more what a sneaky little snake he is.

[MADem]

54. If there are no emails from Snowden to his bosses about these overreaches, the question HAS to be

asked: What was he up to when he was working for DELL at YOKOTA AFB in Japan?

How long did he go on holiday to Hong Kong while he was in that job?

Was his demeanor any different after he returned from Hong Kong?

If his girlfriend went with him, is there anything she can contribute about his behavior and demeanor during that trip?

It's routine to keep an eye on the doorways to embassies and consulates with whom we have adversarial relations...it would be interesting to have a look at the images that were made during Snowden's first Hong Kong holiday. Did he go anywhere near that building? Did he make it to the 21st floor where the Russian consulate is situated?

At some point, it has to be asked--is this just 'ego,' or was he turned a while ago? And does he think he's smart enough to flip the script yet again and get away with doing a triple play? I don't think he's cool enough to get by a polygraph; not without drugs, at any rate--and that's even if does have sociopathic tendencies.

And that's the very first thing that will happen if he ever gets back to this side of the pond.

[billhicks76]

28. Maybe he has his emails

It matters not because NSA is the issue not Snowden. NSA is the one committing crimes.

[Leme]

36. Data collection is the issue for me, NSA is a large part of the issue of data collection

Snowden's action is just a side issue. But it should be addressed. And possibly, or probably Snowden just has to have sent the emails for them to exist...even if the NSA scrubs their files.
-
Everything sent in past years may be somewhere, in some file, somewhere. The private lines that the email was sent over may have it.

[billhicks76]

41. Yes!!!!!

That the entire NSA system is corrupted is the issue nit minute details as to how Snowden complained. People should always be suspicious of those who attack whistleblowers. We don't blame rape victims for confronting their abusers and the fact is 99% of whistleblowers are telling the truth and not crying wolf. By the way Snowden said he complained to his colleges and managers and they will verify it. He never said it was in an email as far as I know. I've never seen something as potentially evil and actively criminal as what NSA is doing....and all the things they do for DEA while instructing officers to lie to judges and attorneys about the trail of evidence. That alone with one million people in jail for drugs tells me we are already in a totalitarian, fascist system.

[Leme]

80. I am concerned with more than just the NSA giving data to the DEA

But that of course is a major problem. The NSA is deciding what parts to give, and what parts not to give. Exculpatory evidence, innocence proving evidence, may be left out. Or the DEA does not recognize it as such.
-
The same can easily be said for the data collected "legally" from overseas. The various parts of government will only get what the NSA deems necessary, appropriate... or whatever suits their agenda. Quite easy to keep parts of government in turmoil if all that you send them is one type of information.

[treestar]

91. He did not prove any "crimes"

Saying that over and over won't make it so. He stole huge numbers of documents he could not possibly have read.

[Leme]

93. ahhhh...

where in this post did I say he proved "crimes" ?
-
no offense... but comment on what I say please, not what you think I say.
-
thank you

[MADem]

51. Snowden is the one who stole documents and gave them to GG and LP.

Last I knew, stealing government material was a crime. The fact that it was classified makes it a bit worse.

Snowden IS the issue. If he wants to raise issues about NSA abuses, he should come on home and do that.

If he'd been smart, he would have gone through channels in the first place.

[Leme]

89. I am not stating innocence or guilt of Snowden

But when you are in a bad situation: bleeding liberty, freedom, and privacy.... whether the person who is trying to stop the bleeding has clean hands or not, would not be THAT important.

[billhicks76]

34. I'll Worry About NSA not Snowden

The story is the NSA. I suppose you didn't believe Russell Tice the one who blew the whistle on Bush in 2005. He was a high ranking NSA guy too even though detractors tried to assassinate his character and used the usual propaganda tools. He claimed He was ordered not to follow terrorists but judges, attorneys, journalists, members of Congress including Obama and generals. Why? He said to gain leverage over them. That's a nice way of saying blackmail them to get what you want. The worst of all this is the NYT revelation that NSA supplies DEA with illegally obtained information to track and bust US citizens in the failed and unpopular drug war. We are spending money to keep jails full of marijuana growers and dealers at the state level where NSA feeds illegal cell phone data to cops who are then told to lie to judges, defense attorneys and sometimes even prosecutors as to where the information to bust these people originated. They are instructed to recreate the trail of evidence with what they call parallel reconstruction. This in itself should render every one of those busts illegal as you have a right to contest evidence. The whole justice system is based on lies it turns out...yes most of our justice system is all about drugs. Heads shouldn't just roll...thousands of cops should be in jail for lying in court.

[MADem]

39. Snowden has MADE the story about Snowden, by his actions, by his insistence that he

"tried" to whistleblow and was thwarted.

Now, it's time for Ed to prove his claims. You don't get to make accusations without being challenged to prove them. That's not how it works.

And that "email" in the OP isn't an email at all--it's a form submission, probably after he finished up that class.

He's going to have to put up or be regarded as a bit of a blowhard--at a minimum.

This isn't about any one else save Ed Snowden and the accusations that Ed Snowden is making. It's not about other whistleblowers, or cops, or drugs, or any of that stuff. You can argue about the justice/injustice re: those issues all you want, but just don't try conflating them with this issue because it doesn't cut it.

It's about Ed Snowden's insistence that the NSA knows what you are thinking before you finish typing, that they're listening to you through your phone, they're spying on you through your computer, etc., etc. It's about his assertion that he first said there was no recourse for him, and now is saying that he tried "ten or more" times to get resolution...yet the only email we are seeing is about course work in a class he took (on a form submission, too) and his questions are very generic and don't even SPEAK to the legalities of metadata collection or any of the things he has been griping about.

He has a LONG way to go before he approaches credibility in terms of his "whistleblowing" bona fides. In fact, the simple reality that he was sending encrypted emails to Greenwald at the same time he's emailing a form submission to the OGC makes him look like a bullshitter. It hurts him, it doesn't help him.

[billhicks76]

43. Wrong

I'm not conflating. NSA's biggest function is their Special Operations Division for the DEA and it involves heavily illegal action against large portions of the American people. Thank you Edward for being an actual human being and sacrificing your freedom for ours. He isn't the only one standing up for what us right that is correct. He is on the right team though.

[MADem]

55. No, you are conflating. And you're confusing, as well.

NSA's job is SIGINT. They don't work "for" the DEA.

[billhicks76]

67. I'm Aware

Most of their time is spent using their SIGINT resources to assist DEA's S.O.D. to target US citizens suspected of drug activity. That is a fact.

[MADem]

70. I'll wager that's a very small, by request only, use of their time. nt

[billhicks76]

73. I'll Bet The Farm

It's actually terrorism that is a very small percentage. The drug war and 2 million people in prison is big business and that's what everything is always about...money. Lying to judges to recreate false trails of evidence is highly illegal and shakes the foundation of the laws our justice system established to defend people. DEA uses this technology millions of times a year. They requested information previously in the mid2000s directly from telecoms without a warrant 10 million times for EACH telecom. This was according to leaked wikileaks docs in 2008. Now DEA uses NSA and recently the Feds have been providing Stingray equipment to police precincts which act as a cell tower and intercept all communications. If drugs were legal drug warriors would lose billions. Police precincts would almost shut down. We don't have a lot of violent crime anymore to justify these inflated, militarized budgets. It's all a racket and about targeting citizens over drugs. They wish there were millions of terrorists...there are not. There are millions of drug users and there always will be so they created this system to target them

[MADem]

75. Well, I don't know what to tell you....think what you'd like...

But the winds are blowing in another direction...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/dea-medical-marijuana-house-vote_n_5414679.html

[Leme]

42. I was not aware that the NSA gives such info to DEA

That's the thing about all this data collection. It can be given... or withheld.
-
It is scary on the national level, which this is about.
-
Perhaps even scarier on the international level. What information would we trade to find a bin Laden? 400 hostages? Nuclear reactor plans?
-
And what if a real thief (out for BIG money) had taken those files? Or the international files?

[billhicks76]

66. Attorneys Have Suspected a For Years

NYT published it. Really what happened here is that in 2000 people were over the drug war and were approaching defunding it. Then we were given 911 and they rebranded the War On Drugs as The War On Terror. All the money went to fighting drugs and keeping cops equipped not to find terrorists as there are very few but to be used against the American people...more and more of which who are involving themselves in marijuana. Most of NSA's work involves feeding information to DEA and cops to pull people over for transporting drugs. It's a scam and a racket.

[billhicks76]

45. Not About Snowden

It's about losing our country to out of control power hungary revolving door wanna be millionaires at the expense of our freedom

[MADem]

48. No--it is about Snowden. He took those documents and he ran with them.

He gave them to two people to spread far and wide.

Millionaires are a problem, sure--and those two reporters are working for a BILLIONAIRE, that eBay guy, who is rich enough to create his own media outlet.

So, whatever.

You can complain about those millionaires (and billionaires) all you want, but this story is about a guy who stole a ton of classified material and gave it to two people to distribute. He first said he was a whistleblower, but he admitted he went to his last job just to steal stuff. He said he was just a poor contractor, but then he said he was a spy.

He said he had no legal recourse, and then he said he contacted his superiors ten times. The only email we've seen has the OGC answering a polite question about a COURSE he took, and inviting him to ask more questions if he was unclear on anything.

Hardly sounds like anyone told him to STFU.

[billhicks76]

64. Respectfully Disagree

Our so called security establishment isn't concerned with protecting us. They want to get rich by fleecing our treasury when they get contracts after leaving government jobs with their revolving door legalized bribery. NSA spends all it's time on the drug war and when not doing that they are spying on activists, politicians, judges, attorneys and members of Congress to either subvert their activities on behalf of their corporate buddies or blackmail them with information gleaned as leverage. Snowden is a stand up guy who believes in protecting our rights but even if he was a low life I would still be applauding him. You are very vehement in your castigation of him and your dedication is inspiring but I'll never crucify this guy. Sorry.

[MADem]

68. You're convoluting federal agencies. NSA doesn't have an army, they collect signals.

They aren't chasing drug dealers, they don't have uniforms, they're sitting in air conditioned spaces in work stations, collecting and sifting SIGINT. That's their job.

If you want to admire Snowden, you go right ahead, that's your prerogative. I'm not convinced that he had our best interests at heart. I think his ego and his desire to be right takes precedence over national security concerns.

Time, as it always does, will tell.

[billhicks76]

74. Excuse Me

Most police work these days is SIGINT related. Most cops don't even chase people around. It's quite simple really as I have said. People get busted 99% of the time based on cell phone communications. NSA provides the data and DEA forwards to local cops who arrest people. There are many articles about this. If drugs were legalized half of NSA and all of DEA would be out of jobs. They are actually doing our institutions a disservice because many people have lost faith die to their misplaced priorities.

[MADem]

76. Again, the trend is moving away from all that...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/dea-medical-marijuana-house-vote_n_5414679.html

Think what you'd like; let's suffice it to say that I don't agree with your worldview.

[geek tragedy]

2. there goes the whistleblower defense, legally anyways

one could argue that he's functionally a whistleblower, but good luck with that in court

[struggle4progress]

3. It seems a bit thin as evidence of raising issues through channels

[geek tragedy]

4. doesn't even come close. maybe there's more, the NSA aren't

captains of transparency, but this dog won't hunt

[gcomeau]

5. If by "thin as evidence of..."

...we mean "fairly clear evidence against..."

He asked a question, got a clear and direct answer and was invited to raise any further concerns or questions he had for further discussion, which indicates no apparent barriers to him going through channels properly instead of performing a mass theft of classified data.

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. +1

[Cha]

21. So thin as to be non existent.

[MADem]

31. He's not "complaining" or "whistleblowing." He's asking specific questions about the contents of a

training course he took. It's even in his frigging subject line. If he were complaining about policy or rule of law, he'd say so in his email--but he's not.

To try to insist that these emails are "going through the chain of command about a whistleblower issue" is ludicrous.

And look closer at that thing--it says EMAIL FORM!!!

It's looking, to me, like one of those "put your comments here" type things .... you know, the box at the end of a survey, where you fill out how well you thought the class met your needs, how good the teacher was, was the room too hot or cold, did you understand the material, any other things you'd like to comment on? Fill out the name/email portion if you want a reply....

I don't think he sat down and wrote this out as a separate email at all. I think it was a fill - in - the - blank at the end of a course he took.

More than "a bit thin"--it's see-through!

[billhicks76]

33. I wouldn't trust my NSA bosses

Did he say he complain via email or in person about his original criticisms? This all seems trivial right here

[MADem]

59. He's insisting there are more emails. He needs to produce them. The onus is on him.

He's worked for the government for many years now--he knows about administrative clear-outs. Things are not kept forever; every couple of years they do a document dump. He needs to produce the materials he says he prepared.

Don't even try to tell me that a guy who copied many hundreds of thousands of documents didn't think to keep copies of ten or so emails.

The lame little inquiries to OGC in regard to course material are not "complaints to bosses." And when the responder comes back with "If you have more questions please ask" that's hardly being rebuffed.

[billhicks76]

71. You're Repeating Yourself

How did your response get duplicated 5 times. I didn't read him insisting he has more emails. He just said NSA cherry picked and is incomplete. He doesn't have to do anything but I'm sure if he gas emails he will produce them but this is a waste of time in the meanwhile. Give him a minute. It's irrelevant anyway.

[MADem]

77. WOW!!! Talk about a stutter!!! My screen stuck for a moment--but that's freaky!

I'll delete those spares!!!!!

[billhicks76]

37. Irrelevant

Cherry-Picked. Red Herring. Pathetic.

[yodermon]

6. is this the only email? n/t

[riderinthestorm]

10. Well since the NSA has spent months saying they didn't have ANY emails, and now it turns ou they do

I'd say the NSA are big fat liars and there's more emails out there... (if they haven't scrubbed them yet)

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. Wouldn't a super secret double naught spy keep copies? I mean he stole a million documents. Really?

[Cha]

29. "Snowden's Odd Email to the NSA Deepens the Mystery"

I give you the brilliant David Corn, Tarheel..

"So you're in the middle of the biggest secrets-blowing caper in the history of the known universe. You're one of a small number of people who have access to the most classified information about the most classified spying programs of the most powerful superpower—and you're swiping tens of thousands of pages of these secrets and preparing to hand them over to journalists. You've already made contact with your recipients—and it was harder than you thought to do so. You've switched jobs, moving from one contractor to another, in order to snatch more of the documents you want revealed to the unknowing public. You're scraping NSA servers. You're watching your back. Oh damn, you are certainly watching your back. You know the people you work for can monitor who gets in and out of the system, and though you are one of the few with the keys to the crypt, you have to be worried—scratch that, paranoid, and rightfully so—that someone's going to wise up. You make a slip—they might be watching right now—and the alarms go off. And it's no more Hawaiian paradise. It's federal prison. But you're committed. You have your plan. You're about to send a security kit to an American reporter who lives in Brazil and works for a British outlet so you can communicate via a safe and encrypted mechanism."


Much MOre..
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/05/snowden-odd-email-nsa

If there is no correspondence to the NSA from ES on what he thought was wrong then this is just going to expose even more what a sneaky little snake he is.

[Tarheel_Dem]

35. Are you starting to believe he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer?

I'll say it again....WORST! SPY! EVER! Who the hell wouldn't keep copies of their communications in a serious matter like this? David Corn has this one pegged to a tee.

[Cha]

49. Worst Spy Ever, indeed! Ends up in Russia because ooops.. and tries to blame it on the US..

tries to cover his ass from Russia with some flimsy story about trying to go through the proper channels with no proof. He's got his thousands of docs "proof" on all this other shit but nothing to back up another one of his "spy" stories.

Another gem from Bob Cesca..

The 13 Most Bizarre Things from Edward Snowden’s NBC News Interview

snip///

Last night, while watching Brian Williams’ interview with Ed Snowden, I actually agreed with Glenn Greenwald about something. Back in 2012, Greenwald referred to Williams as “NBC News’ top hagiographer,” using “his reverent, soothing, self-important baritone” to deliver information in its “purest, most propagandistic, and most subservient form.”

It’s worth noting at the outset that Greenwald flew all the way to Moscow specifically for the NBC News interview, and he appeared on camera with Snowden and Williams, answering questions from this so-called “hagiographer.”

snip//

1) Snowden claimed he has “no relationship” with the Russian government and that he’s “not supported” by it.

2) “Sometimes to do the right thing you have to break a law.”

4) Early on, Snowden said, “I’m not a spy.” Later he famously confessed to being “trained as a spy.” Huh?

snip//

12) “People have unfairly demonized the NSA to a point that is too extreme.” Why is Snowden an apologist for the surveillance state? Drooling! Vast!

snip//

"Ultimately, Snowden is his own worst enemy and his ongoing ability to say crazy things in a calm, collected voice continues. What’s abundantly clear at this point is that no one will ever land an interview with Snowden who will be as adversarial against the former NSA contractor as Greenwald has been in his own reporting in defense of Snowden. It’ll never happen."

MOre..
http://thedailybanter.com/2014/05/13-bizarre-things-edward-snowdens-nbc-news-interview/

[Tarheel_Dem]

52. The Insider is reporting that the interview was held only feet away from Putin's office.

I wonder if he's actually living in the Kremlin? Remember when he wanted to shoot folks like himself in the nuts? Of course, that was during Bush/Cheney.

[Cha]

53. Really?! and, he "has no relations with Russia"?! Did you see that he said he couldn't

comment on Russia because he didn't speak the language?

[Tarheel_Dem]

56. I'm catching up today. I didn't watch those smarmy bastards. Can't stand to look...

at either of them.

[Cha]

57. I mean from Bob Cesca's article.. he watched it

so we wouldn't have to.

[MADem]

88. How did he manage to get a front-and-center video appearance on the "Ask the Pootster" show?

The Pootster enjoyed calling him a fellow spy, didn't he?

[treestar]

92. It is dumb he blames the US for revoking his passport

Something he should have planned on. I'm thinking he's a patsy.

[Cha]

94. I know he's a liar. nm

[grasswire]

58. It's wise to be cautious about David Corn.

For many years now, he has been considered by certain progressives to be a CIA asset in progressive guise.

And his career has certainly been mixed. He broke down Gary Webb, delivering the final blow. He has attacked Greg Palast on his investigation of vote fraud in 2004. He attacked organizers of the anti-war demonstrations of 2002. He assisted in the breakup and sell off of Pacifica Radio progressive assets. Also in 2002, he discredited the information that the Bush administration had been warned in advance of the 9/11 attacks. And of course there is the Valerie Plame matter.

Yes, I'm indebted to him for plugging the 47 percent story that killed Mitt.

But for about fifteen years now I have noted the stories that he may be a CIA
mole.

I'll overlook the fact that he did work for FOX.

[Cha]

69. Yeah right.. and don't be cautious about Edward Snowden.. got it.

[MADem]

81. Which "certain progressives?" I think David Corn would find this hilarious! nt

[grasswire]

83. I'm sure that Dave has known about this for fifteen years or so.

Ever since he stomped on Gary Webb, at least.

It's been all over the Internets for that long.

[MADem]

84. After the beat-down he gave Ted Shackley back in the nineties, I can't see the CIA cozying up to

him, not in the least. He basically called the guy a massive fuckup and put the blame for many CIA failures on him.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/used/product.asp?EAN=2697495661663&Itm=3

Corn obtained his "CIA knowledge" researching that guy and writing that book.

[struggle4progress]

87. Oh? Really?

Gary Webb Is Dead
David Corn on December 13, 2004 - 6:33 PM ET

... Webb's tale is a sad one. He was on to something but botched part of how he handled it. He then was blasted and ostracized. He was wrong on some important details but he was, in a way, closer to the truth than many of his establishment media critics who neglected the story of the real CIA-contra-cocaine connection. In 1998, a CIA inspector general's report acknowledged that the CIA had indeed worked with suspected drugrunners while supporting the contras. A Senator named John Kerry had investigated these links years earlier, and the media had mostly ignored his findings. After Webb published his articles, the media spent more time crushing Webb than pursuing the full story. It is only because of Webb's work--as flawed as it was--that the CIA IG inquiry happened. So, then, it is only because of Webb that US citizens have confirmation from the CIA that it partnered up with suspected drug traffickers in the just-say-no years and that the Reagan Administration, consumed with a desire to overthrow the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, allied itself with drug thugs.

As the news of Webb's death circulated across the Internet, some of his fans took the opportunity to demand that I issue a posthumous apology to him. Why? Because I had been critical of his series and book. But my criticism was different from that of the mainstream press. I maintained he had overstated the case and had not proven his more cinematic allegations. But I also credited him for forcing the issue and prodding the CIA to come clean ...

[Leme]

72. update from your link

UPDATE: Several hours after the NSA released the Snowden email, Snowden told the Washington Post, "Today’s release is incomplete, and does not include my correspondence with the Signals Intelligence Directorate’s Office of Compliance, which believed that a classified executive order could take precedence over an act of Congress, contradicting what was just published. It also did not include concerns about how indefensible collection activities—such as breaking into the back-haul communications of major US internet companies—are sometimes concealed under EO 12333 to avoid Congressional reporting requirements and regulations."

[Cha]

86. Yeah, the Liar speaks.. BFD.

[joshcryer]

18. Where did the NSA say that?

[billhicks76]

30. This Thread Sucks

To many NSA familiar defenders. Snowden doesn't answer to them. Maybe he has his emails maybe he doesn't. He never claimed he didn't so these comments are pointless. Really trivial actually. NSA are proven liars over and over and over.

[MADem]

44. This is a "form submission" email.

It's one of those things where you fill in a box on a page. It's not an "open up your email program" write/push send- type email.

It could very well have been part and parcel of a survey at the end of the course he took. If that were the case it might not be filed with the regular emails.

In any event, this email damages Snowden greatly-- it HURTS his credibility. He asked a question. He got an answer. He also got an open invitation to ask more questions.

Which, apparently, he didn't do--he was already emailing GG and LP and plotting to steal documents hand over fist.

[grasswire]

13. NBC has requested the other emails through FOIA. nt

[Hissyspit]

78. Not necessarily:

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by ucrdem (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum). If you believe this was done in error, please contact ucrdem to appeal.
Source: Reuters

NSA, Snowden clash over 2013 internal email release

By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON | Thu May 29, 2014 9:21pm EDT

By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An email exchange released on Thursday shows Edward Snowden questioned the U.S. National Security Agency's legal training programs, but provides no evidence the former contractor complained internally about vast NSA surveillance programs that he later leaked to the media.

Snowden responded in an email to the Washington Post that the release by U.S. officials "is incomplete."

- snip -

"Many, many of these individuals were shocked by these programs," Snowden said, adding that he was advised: "If you say something about this, they're going to destroy you."

The emails were first released by the office of Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

- snip -

Snowden told the Post there were other emails "and not just on this topic. I’m glad they’ve shown they have access to records they claimed just a few months ago did not exist, and I hope we’ll see the rest of them very soon." The email exchange appears to be the first internal communication by Snowden, while he was working for the NSA, to be released publicly.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0E92DK20140530

[Benton D Struckcheon]

7. There had to have been more than this.

This isn't even a direct question re anything related to the stuff he leaked. If you looked at this without knowing any of the background, it'd be, well, nothing.
Has Snowden commented on this yet?

[grasswire]

12. NBC has requested his prior emails to NSA general counsel...

...through FOIA. I expect that when we see them all, we will see this one in context.

[DCBob]

15. This email has little to nothing to do with the issue.

confused.

[struggle4progress]

16. Yesterday, many people were insisting it proved Snowden had raised concerns

about the legality of NSA activities, through proper channels, before engaging in his data dump

[DCBob]

17. The timing of this email doesnt help Snowjobs case.

Most people would assume a legitimate whistleblower would raise concerns with management prior to talking with a reporter about dumping them a boatload of stolen classified documents.

[struggle4progress]

19. That view, of course, is reinforced by the fact that Snowden has said he sought his last BAH job

precisely in order to have more access to documents and by the fact that he initiated contact with Poitras and Greenwald prior to obtaining that job

[Historic NY]

20. And that there if proved might lead to conspiracy charges....

[Cha]

22. Exactly, DCBob.. Tweet from David Corn..

David Corn ✔ @DavidCornDC
Follow
Why would #Snowden make direct contact with NSA gen. couns. office on this issue at same time he was plotting to get docs to @ggreenwald?

9:38 AM - 29 May 2014

40 Retweets 15 favorites
Reply
Retweet
Favorite

[billhicks76]

32. Exactly

Just attempted misdirection, deflection and obfuscation. Yawn.

[Sunlei]

23. This is a email about his training class. Where are all the contacts Snowden said he had over whist

whistleblowing? Even Snowden would have copies of those documents.

[moondust]

25. You wouldn't want to lose those.

Anything that proves you exhausted whistleblower channels before going rogue could save you in court from a long prison term.

Rule 1: CYA

[billhicks76]

47. Red Herring

This whole article is a red herring. It's a waste of time....plenty of time to see what's actually going on through the initial government manipulation.

[Hissyspit]

79. NSA, Snowden clash over 2013 internal email release

Source: Reuters

NSA, Snowden clash over 2013 internal email release

By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON | Thu May 29, 2014 9:21pm EDT

By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An email exchange released on Thursday shows Edward Snowden questioned the U.S. National Security Agency's legal training programs, but provides no evidence the former contractor complained internally about vast NSA surveillance programs that he later leaked to the media.

Snowden responded in an email to the Washington Post that the release by U.S. officials "is incomplete."

- snip -

"Many, many of these individuals were shocked by these programs," Snowden said, adding that he was advised: "If you say something about this, they're going to destroy you."

The emails were first released by the office of Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

- snip -

Snowden told the Post there were other emails "and not just on this topic. I’m glad they’ve shown they have access to records they claimed just a few months ago did not exist, and I hope we’ll see the rest of them very soon." The email exchange appears to be the first internal communication by Snowden, while he was working for the NSA, to be released publicly.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0E92DK20140530

[Major Hogwash]

85. " . . . sent months after . . . "

That's all you need to know --- that's the end of Snowden, right there!!!!
Tried to cover his ass, after the fact!!!
Come home now and go to trial, young man . . either way, you're history!!!!

So is Greenwald and Laura Poitras.
They can be the biggest Libertarian supporters for Rand Paul they want to be.
They can write a book about it, they can make a movie about it, they can even get a tv series on cable tv and talk about it.

But, that doesn't change the fact that Snowden is a traitor.
A bald-faced liar, too.

Maybe Snowden will learn to love borscht.
Or perhaps he will go out for the Russian bobsledding team in time to qualify for the next winter's Olympics.

In any case, it is obvious he is one narcissistic, douchebag of a traitor.
He fits the profile to a "tee".

[treestar]

90. Doesn't seem related to whistleblowing at all

Just a dumb question. He should know what an EO is. It is merely a means of carrying out a law. What a dumb question, at least, from one who claims to be such a genius. He could look that up on wikipedia.