Back in December, lawmakers put off the long-term reauthorization of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a powerful surveillance authority, amid a pre-Christmas legislative whirlwind. Now the House and Senate have until January 19 to agree on a reauthorization bill that…
During the George W. Bush presidency, Democrats were vehement and clamorous defenders of Americans’ civil liberties. They inveighed against the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs as though the agency were spying on ordinary Americans in their homes and generally behaving like the East…
In June 2013, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old National Security Agency contract employee, surfaced in Hong Kong with the sensational announcement that he was the source of top-secret American intelligence documents already being published in the Guardian and the Washington Post. The information he…
In June 2013, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old National Security Agency contract employee, surfaced in Hong Kong with the sensational announcement that he was the source of top-secret American intelligence documents already being published in the Guardian and the Washington Post. The information he…
A new movie on the subject from Oliver Stone and the imminent retirement of President Obama seem to have concentrated minds on the left: There is a burgeoning movement—confined, for the most part, to journalists—for Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, the fugitive national-security leaker now resident…
A new movie on the subject from Oliver Stone and the imminent retirement of President Obama seem to have concentrated minds on the left: There is a burgeoning movement—confined, for the most part, to journalists—for Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, the fugitive national-security leaker now resident…
New legislation signed into law last week by Vladimir Putin strengthens anti-terrorism efforts at the price of civil liberties. The new law allows adolescents as young as 14 to be tried as adults, as well as criminalizes the failure to report a crime, "inducing, recruiting, or otherwise involving"…
Reviews and News:
On Sunday night, The X-Files returned to television.
The Hill reports:
The fight between GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio continues to heat up. Cruz set things off last week with a direct hit against Rubio over the latter’s support for the Gang of 8 immigration plan, an attack that the Rubio camp seemed ready for. This week, their debate has moved…
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is weighing in on the debate whether the U.S. government should strike a deal with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
While the country slept Friday night and into Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate debated and voted on whether to alter substantially the NSA’s bulk telephone meta-data collection program, extend it for a short period, or simply let it die on June 1 when the “sunset” provision governing the relevant…
Last week, Edward Snowden came out (or was let out) of his home in liberty-loving Russia to grant an interview to John Oliver, erstwhile Comedy Central Daily Show correspondent and current host of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. A few seconds in, the ever-so-earnest Snowden began to realize…
Yesterday, the Washington Post’s top story was another leak from NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Unlike many of the Post’s other Snowden stories, where sensationalism has greatly outweighed the reported facts about this or that NSA program, this one had more substance and less breathless analysis.
White House press secretary Jay Carney told the press today that NSA leaker Edward Snowden "faces felony charges here in the United States and he ought to return here to face these charges." Carney made the comments aboard Air Force One, en route to West Point where President Obama will deliver…
In the wake of all the “leaks” by Edward Snowden of the National Security Agency’s collection programs and the resulting debate over those programs, one constantly hears from elected officials and the commentariat about the need to strike the right balance between privacy and security. More often…
Betray your country, hide out in a thugocracy, then have your name put up for the Nobel Peace Prize. So goes Snowden’s improbable odyssey as reported by Reuters:
For all those civil libertarians of both the left and the right who think we ought to thank Edward Snowden for his actions in revealing NSA’s secret metadata collection program—or, at a minimum, believe the U.S. government should show leniency toward him should he ever come back to these…
Robert Samuelon writes in the Washington Post about the "sensationalism" over Edward Snowden's leaks of details of the National Security Agency data mining:
Russia strongman Vladimir Putin had some kind words for NSA leaker Edward Snowden. "[H]e's noble," Putin said at a press conference in Moscow today. Snowden has been given temporary asylum in Russia and is on the run from the U.S. government.
That’s the way globalization ends, not with one large headline, but with several changes in the direction of policy, caused by events seemingly unrelated to the policy changes they produce. That’s bad news for those who believe that freer trade and an increase in the international flow of capital…
During an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Congressman Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that al Qaeda has changed the way it communicates in light of Edward Snowden’s leaks. Rogers said of Snowden (emphasis added):
Reuters reports that Edward Snowden, who stole any of his own country's secrets that he could get his hands on before fleeing to the arms of its enemies is a hero. Or is, at any rate:
There are reasons to worry about NSA surveillance. Civil servants have all the usual human frailties, and when they abuse their power, it’s good to know about it—that’s why we have extensive whistleblower protection laws. But whistle-blowing is different from stealing state secrets and absconding…
At his Friday afternoon press conference, President Barack Obama said he does not consider Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified information, a patriot.
Senator John McCain released this statement after learning the news that Russia had granted asylum to Edward Snowden:
Edward Snowden, one of many thousands of people holding very high security clearances, stole the family jewels in what was, arguably, the greatest security breach in American history. And the reaction of the agency that he violated? The usual Washington shrug. Stuff, you know, happens.…
Reuters is reporting:
Edward Snowden's lawyer is a Putin crony, the AFP reports.
AFP reports:
In what appeared to be an open letter to Edward Snowden, MSNBC this morning pleaded for the leaker to turn himself in to American authorities, despite the alleged tens of thousands of "human rights violations" in prisons each year:
President Obama talked with Russian chief Vladimir Putin on the phone today about Edward Snowden, according to the White House. But no further details about the conversation concerning Snowden have been released.
According to a readout of Barack Obama's meeting with the co-chairs of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which was emailed to reporters, President Obama appears to have confronted the Chinese about the handling of Edward Snowden.
Reuters is reporting that Iceland has decided not to take in Edward Snowden. He is running out of options and soon, perhaps, the only one left to him will be to return to the United States and hire Ramsey Clark as his lawyer.
Secretary of State John Kerry admits he did not make "substantive progress" with the Russian foreign minister when they discussed the case of Edward Snowden today in Brunei.
Reuters reports:
Obama administration officials may be upset that China intervened to help NSA leaker Edward Snowden leave Hong Kong but they shouldn't be surprised. Beijing has intervened before to get its way on matters that were meant to be the purview of Hong Kong's independent judicial system and to stymie…
President Obama, speaking about Edward Snowden in Africa, said he hasn't called the Chinese and Russians about the man wanted by the U.S. government:
THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on immigration reform's future, Edward Snowden
In a letter sent to the Russian ambassador the U.S., Senator Lindsey Graham asks that Edward Snowden be turned over to American authorities.
Speaking about Hong Kong's decision to let NSA leaker Edward Snowden leave, without handing him over to American authorities, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that "we find their decision particularly troubling." Carney added that their decision "unquestionably has a negative impact" on…
The Scrapbook’s hypothesis that the substance of blockbuster news stories tends to diminish with time—there’s less here than meets the eye—is borne out most of the time. Which, as nonscientific theories tend to go, is an enviable record.
Ricardo Patiño Aroca, Ecuador's minister of foreign affairs for trade and integration, announces on Twitter that they've received a request for asylum from Edward Snowden: Tweet Tweet The foreign minister met with Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame last week at the Ecuador embassy in London last week:
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky defended NSA leaker Edward Snowden this morning on CNN:
The Chinese organ Xinhua reports that Ecuador might offer asylum to Edward Snowden.
Texas senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, told viewers on Fox News Monday morning that Americans should avoid a "rush to judgment" on the leaking of classified information by Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency systems analyst. The Washington Examiner has the video:
Edward Snowden says "lies" from the Gang of 8 are part of the reason he felt "compelled ... to act." He made the statement in response to a question about his motivations in releasing classified information on the Guardian's website.
Gary Schmitt writes:
THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the recent leaks regarding the NSA's intelligence gathering programs.
Booz Allen confirms the NSA leaker was an employee of the consulting firm who made $122,000 per year. And, the firm says, he is no longer employed by Booz Allen.
The New York Post editorializes:
Bill Gertz reports: