Mission Accomplished: NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Says He's Already Won
WASHINGTON (WJZ)—For the first time, the man who leaked the personal files of the NSA speaks in an unapologetic 14 hour interview.
Linh Bui reports Edward Snowden says "Mission accomplished."
An unapologetic Edward Snowden sat down with a Washington Post reporter and held nothing back. He explained his goal behind the release of top secret documents from the National Security Agency where he was employed as a contractor.
"All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed," he said. "For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission is already accomplished."
"He wanted the public to know what was being done in its name and being done to it in terms of surveillance," said Barton Gellman.
Gellman conducted the interview with Snowden. The two met in Moscow, where he was granted asylum by the Russian government in August.
Snowden accuses the government of misusing its power to gather surveillance on ordinary people through tapped cell phones and internet usage.
"I am not trying to bring down the NSA; I am trying to improve the NSA," he said in the interview. "There is no evidence at all for the claim that I have loyalties to Russia or China or any country other than the United States. I have not entered into any agreements with them."
Snowden faces felony charges for leaking the documents.
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