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NSA Releases New Snowden Documents (vice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Hundreds of internal NSA documents have been declassified and released to VICE in response to their FOIA lawsuit. They're now sharing them all online, calling it "an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the efforts by the NSA, the White House, and US Senator Dianne Feinstein to discredit Snowden [that] call into question aspects of the U.S. government's long-running narrative about Snowden's time at the NSA." The documents officially confirm that Snowden had also worked with the CIA, and show a vigorous internal discussion about how to respond to Snowden's leaks that apparently led the NSA to erroneously assert that Snowden hadn't voiced his objections about the surveillance of U.S. citizens within the NSA before going public.
Living in Russia now, Snowden himself refused to comment on the new releases, with his attorney saying Snowden "believes the NSA is still playing games with selective releases, and [he] therefore chooses not to participate in this effort. He doesn't trust that the intelligence community will operate in good faith."
The EFF is also marking the three-year anniversary of Snowden's leaks, saying they led directly to the first legislation curtailing the NSA's power in over 30 years and changed the way the world perceives government surveillance. Snowden was inspired in part by a desire to keep the internet free, saying in 2014 that "I remember what the Internet was like before it was being watched, and there's never been anything in the history of man that's like it."
Living in Russia now, Snowden himself refused to comment on the new releases, with his attorney saying Snowden "believes the NSA is still playing games with selective releases, and [he] therefore chooses not to participate in this effort. He doesn't trust that the intelligence community will operate in good faith."
The EFF is also marking the three-year anniversary of Snowden's leaks, saying they led directly to the first legislation curtailing the NSA's power in over 30 years and changed the way the world perceives government surveillance. Snowden was inspired in part by a desire to keep the internet free, saying in 2014 that "I remember what the Internet was like before it was being watched, and there's never been anything in the history of man that's like it."
Reading through the Vice article it seems as if Snowden didn't exactly come out and say "I think what we're doing is illegal". It was much more along the lines of him questioning their training on oversight and the boundaries. He was asking questions about the relative priorities of Congressional Law vs Executive Orders.
The thing is, we don't know what was discussed in a couple of the verbal meetings, so he very well could have pointed out that the reason he was asking is the decision that was the foundation for some of the programs was a Classified Executive Order that went against Statute.
He implied as such when he was pointing out the training materials, including some SOPs, were out of date and referred to lapsed or repealed laws.
On the other hand, I'm thinking if he went to the IG and flat out said "Hey, I think these programs I'm working on are illegal", I'm pretty sure the response would have been something along the lines of "you're fired -- allow us to remind you of your NDA and the consequences".
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
It is a basic right of all humans to have privacy - in their personal lives, in their communications, in every type of comportment they make be it electronic or otherwise. Edward Snowden is a great crusader for one of the most basic, fundamental human rights that belongs to all: Not just Americans. Not just those who are not foreign leaders. But all.
The surveillance apparatus is an abomination against humanity and must be immediately and permanently dismantled.
from TFA: "and US Senator Dianne Feinstein to discredit Snowden" Gee, what else has Feinstein tried to do? Weaken/destroy encryption? Her own staff hacked by the CIA? Repeatedly tried to push bills that empower law enforcement to violate the 4th Amendment? Makes me wonder if the NSA/CIA has some leverage on her, something they know about her, to get her to have such zeal in violating her oath to uphold the Constitution.
It's a bloody long article, but here's what caught my eye.
If the OGC lawyer had added "I'm not sure within the context of the training program whether the training slide attests to such a serious misrepresentation, but if it does, you need to suspend teaching this slide immediately" we might all now be in a different place.
The NSA culture in effect seemed to regard providing timely and correct training materials concerning the chain of agency authority as a "best effort" (warranting an administrative follow up) rather than "mission critical" (warranting an internal bow-shot cease and desist).
Hayden's book Playing to the Edge contains tedious chapter upon chapter about endless compliance politics played at the top level, all lawyered up six ways from Sunday, but did the organization deeply communicate the resulting values internally, as forcefully as described by John Kotter in his book Leading Change?
Think You're Communicating Enough? Think Again
If the OGC lawyer had the required ten reminders from on high spilling out of her inbox, she might have gone down the cease and desist track instead, giving Snowden immediate reason to believe that someone on the other side actually gave a shit.
Robert Litt, general counsel of the ODNI:
I would argue here that the other side of "playing close to the edge" is that a single page of unclear training material, if it's the wrong page, is no laughing matter.
Narrow sidelines poorly communicated. What could possibly go wrong?