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New Details About NSA's Exhaustive Search of Edward Snowden's Emails
An anonymous reader points out this Vice story with new information about the NSA's search of Edward Snowden's emails. Last year, the National Security Agency (NSA) reviewed all of Edward Snowden's available emails in addition to interviewing NSA employees and contractors in order to determine if he had ever raised concerns internally about the agency's vast surveillance programs. According to court documents the government filed in federal court September 12, NSA officials were unable to find any evidence Snowden ever had.
In a sworn declaration, David Sherman, the NSA's associate director for policy and records, said the agency launched a "comprehensive" investigation after journalists began to write about top-secret NSA spy programs upon obtaining documents Snowden leaked to them. The investigation included searches of any records where emails Snowden sent raising concerns about NSA programs "would be expected to be found within the agency." Sherman, who has worked for the NSA since 1985, is a "original classification authority," which means he can classify documents as "top-secret" and process, review, and redact records the agency releases in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
In his declaration, Sherman detailed steps he said agency officials took to track down any emails Snowden wrote that contained evidence he'd raised concerns inside the agency. Sherman said the NSA searched sent, received, deleted emails from Snowden's account and emails "obtained by restoring back-up tapes." He noted that NSA officials reviewed written reports and notes from interviews with "NSA affiliates" with whom the agency spoke during its investigation.
In a sworn declaration, David Sherman, the NSA's associate director for policy and records, said the agency launched a "comprehensive" investigation after journalists began to write about top-secret NSA spy programs upon obtaining documents Snowden leaked to them. The investigation included searches of any records where emails Snowden sent raising concerns about NSA programs "would be expected to be found within the agency." Sherman, who has worked for the NSA since 1985, is a "original classification authority," which means he can classify documents as "top-secret" and process, review, and redact records the agency releases in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
In his declaration, Sherman detailed steps he said agency officials took to track down any emails Snowden wrote that contained evidence he'd raised concerns inside the agency. Sherman said the NSA searched sent, received, deleted emails from Snowden's account and emails "obtained by restoring back-up tapes." He noted that NSA officials reviewed written reports and notes from interviews with "NSA affiliates" with whom the agency spoke during its investigation.
I mean, Snowden is ahead by about 9,047 to 6.
They're sounding more and more like 5 year old's complaining to their parents.
Have some fucking accountability. Jesus.
"Helping to keep you two steps ahead of the Thought Police!"
So far, the NSA has lied (at first) about each and every little thing Snowden has leaked.
I guess on this one though, we are supposed to take them at their word.
Recall the "NSA Releases Snowden Email, Says He Raised No Concerns About Spying" (05.29.14)
http://www.wired.com/2014/05/s...
".... the NSA released a statement and a copy of the only email it says it found from Snowden.
That email, the agency says, asked a question about legal authority and hierarchy but did not raise any concerns."
Now its just about FIOA requests finding more or wondering what was held back as as the gov felt it "did not raise any concerns"....
From no emails to one email found back to none under a definition of what "identify" is going to find?
The other option is to only look for a few narrow legal terms that would constitute a formal complaint and not find one.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
I'm sorry. These folks lied to congress. They did it for years. They scanned emails of senators and then lied about it. They lied about the scope, detail, retention and duration of their program, for years, to both congress and the American public.
They have no credibility. I don't care if he is a 20 star general and is pinky-swearing it. I can't trust them. Trust is earned. Distrust is earned. They bought only distrust. They have not earned back one percent of one percent of the trust they have destroyed.
I don't care what noises come out of the mouth of the sock-puppet. It isn't capable of speaking trustworthy words.
If the NSA and federal government didn't change after the info was released publicly, why are they acting like an internal complaint might have made a difference?
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
This is a simple misdirection, common in many types of argument. Whether or not Mr. Snowden attempted to bring problems to anyone's attention is immaterial to the main problem, which is that the NSA was exhibiting this behavior in the first place.
The NSA, with apparent approval from our gov't, spies on its own citizens with impunity, and let seem to be caught flat-footed by events unfolding the Middle East and Ukraine (at least from what I have heard on the radio)
The president twiddles his thumbs while our allies cry out for help.
What in three hells happened to our country?
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Forget the tinfoil hat.
Obviously, any email discussing the existence and raising concern about highly classified programs will be also classified as such. Most likely these emails would be removed or redacted to before any review of the email could take place. I am pretty certain emails shouldn't contain highly classified information, hence the people reviewing the emails will most likely not have the security clearance to review highly classified materials. Assuming they are classified as such, not only do they not have to admit of their existence, they are not allowed to admit it.
I am really not a fan on conspiracy theories, nor do I prone propagating them. On the contrary.
Although this might sound like one, for me it feels more like standard procedures and due process that turned out to be quite convenient.
Let's make this about Snowden.
After all, if he didn't raise concerns, then how could they have possibly known there were any issues.
Perhaps the NSA should share its email recovery procedures with the IRS.
In 2001, William Binney, an NSA investigator, began blowing the whistle on NSA warrantless surveillance. He went through official channels to his superiors, then to Congress, then to the major media. He was harrassed and prosecuted by the government, and ignored and maginalized by the major media. He has kept at it for the past thirteen years.
In 2010, Thomas Drake started blowing the whistle. He was also prosecuted, harrassed, ignored, and marginalized.
In 2011, Ron Wyden began warning the public about the secret interpretation of the PATRIOT Act, as loudly as he could without violating his clearance to be on the Intelligence Committee. The major media ignored him.
In 2013, when Snowden released his docs, the major media finally started listening to Binney, Drake, and Wyden. The establishment's treatment of Binney, Drake, and Wyden is why Snowden had to follow the path he did.
The President of the United States has said that these programs should change. Programs that Binney, Drake, and Wyden tried to warn us about through official channels. Programs that we still would not know about if Snowden had gone through official channels.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
In response to a FOIA request a ProPublica journalist filed for just this kind of information last year, the NSA told him they couldn't do those kind of searches that they apparently just did. Well, dang...it's a good thing that they figured out they could, I mean gosh...if they'd just got it squared away last year then we'd have known a lot earlier how clean their hands were in all this.