A top US intelligence official 'privately floated' a potential deal to bring Snowden home
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
Isikoff, citing three "sources familiar with informal discussions of Snowden's case," writes that the chief counsel to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Robert Litt, "recently privately floated the idea that the government might be open to" the idea that the former NSA contractor could return to the US, plead guilty to one felony count, and receive a prison sentence of three to five years "in exchange for full cooperation with the government."
Snowden, who has lived in Russia since June 23, 2013, is charged with three felonies: Theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.
ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner, one of Snowden's legal advisers, told Yahoo that any deal involving a felony sentence and prison time would be rejected.
"Our position is he should not be reporting to prison as a felon and losing his civil rights as a result of his act of conscience," Wizner said.
Snowden, 32, allegedly stole up to 1.77 million NSA documents while working at two consecutive jobs for US government contractors in Hawaii between March 2012 and May 2013.
The US government believes Snowden gave about 200,000 "tier 1 and 2" documents detailing the NSA's global surveillance apparatus to American journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras in early June 2013. Reports based on the disclosures have swayed courts in the US and influenced public opinion around the world.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
"If I have time to go through this information, I would like to make it available to journalists in each country to make their own assessment, independent of my bias, as to whether or not the knowledge of US network operations against their people should be published," Snowden told Lana Lam of SCMP on June 12, 2013, 11 days before flying to Moscow.
The US intelligence community believes that Snowden also took up to 1.5 million "tier 3" documents, including 900,000 Department of Defense files and documents detailing NSA offensive cyber operations, the fate of which are unclear.
Snowden reportedly told James Risen of The New York Times over encrypted chat in October 2013 that the former CIA technician "gave all of the classified documents he had obtained to journalists he met in Hong Kong." (Wizner subsequently told Business Insider that the report was inaccurate.)
Snowden would later tell NBC that he "destroyed" all documents in his possession before he spoke with the Russians in Hong Kong."The best way to make sure that for example the Russians can't break my fingers and - and compromise information or - or hit me with a bag of money until I give them something was not to have it at all," he told Brian Williams of NBC in Moscow in May 2014. "And the way to do that was by destroying the material that I was holding before I transited through Russia."
In any case, some current and former officials are considering ways to bring the American home.
"I think there could be a basis for a resolution that everybody could ultimately be satisfied with," Former Attorney General Eric Holder told Yahoo. "I think the possibility exists."
Check out the full report at Yahoo News >
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market