The United States is suing Edward Snowden for the alleged violation of non-disclosure agreements.
(Uh, guys, I think we’re a little past the point of leaking highly classified information…)
The Department of Justice alleges that government contractor-turned-whistleblower Snowden published a memoir without review from his former employers.
In “Permanent Record,” the 36-year-old reveals, for the first time, how he helped build the National Security Agency’s PRISM surveillance system, and why he eventually exposed it.
The narrative, according to Snowden’s ACLU attorney Ben Wizner, “contains no government secrets that have not been previously published by respected news organizations.”
“Had Mr. Snowden believed that the government would review his book in good faith, he would have submitted it,” the lawyer added. “But the government continues to insist that facts that are known and discussed throughout the world are still somehow classified.”
The DOJ, however, isn’t trying to stop publication or distribution of “Permanent Record.” Instead, it simply wants to recover all of the author’s proceeds.
“Intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide personal profit,” G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. “This lawsuit will ensure that Edward Snowden receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him.”
The US is also suing publisher Henry Holt, solely to ensure no funds are transferred to Snowden (or “at his direction”) while the court resolves these claims.
“Edward Snowden has violated an obligation he undertook to the United States when he signed agreements as part of his employment by the CIA and as an NSA contractor,” according to Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt, of the DOJ’s Civil Division.
“This lawsuit demonstrates that the Department of Justice does not tolerate these breaches of the public’s trust,” he continued. “We will not permit individuals to enrich themselves, at the expense of the United States, without complying with their pre-publication review obligations.”
This week’s dispute is separate from criminal charges brought against Snowden for alleged disclosures of classified information.
In 2013, Snowden leaked top-secret documents on global surveillance programs run by American and British spy agencies. He now lives in exile in Moscow.
“Mr. Snowden wrote this book to continue a global conversation about mass surveillance and free societies that his actions helped inspire,” Wizner said. “He hopes that today’s lawsuit by the United States government will bring the book to the attention of more readers throughout the world.”
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