Snowden claims NSA ignored his formal concerns on agency's surveillance program

According to TIME, Edward Snowden said that he did voiced out his concerns with his former employer, the US National Security Agency, about the latter's oversight and compliance bodies prior to leaking a trove of classified data that launched a worldwide debate on government eavesdropping. The former NSA contractor and whistleblower had made these claims in an interview with Vanity Fair. This contradicted NSA deputy director Rick Ledgett's statement earlier, who insisted that they have not received any formal complaints filed by him or concerns he might have aired to any of his colleagues at the agency.

Snowden told Vanity Fair, "The NSA at this point not only knows I raised complaints, but that there is evidence that I made my concerns known to the NSA's lawyers, because I did some of it through e-mail. I directly challenge the NSA to deny that I contacted NSA oversight and compliance bodies directly via e-mail and that I specifically expressed concerns about their suspect interpretation of the law, and I welcome members of Congress to request a written answer to this question [from the NSA]."

Snowden is currently on the run and had taken steps to ensure that the US government will not file any espionage charges against him. Although he expressed disappointment with the other members of the US Congress who pursued the spy charges against him, he is confident that intelligence-community officials will continue to disregard notions and confirm to journalists that he is not a traitor of his own country.

The former government contractor's interview was published at the same time he claimed that the US government monitors human rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, according to the Guardian.

When asked about the actual number of classified documents he has in his possession, Snowden was essentially evasive in disclosing the amount that he has on. Although he told Vanity Fair he has "zero," Snowden blasted investigators who had been using language terms that would potentially scare people.

He added, "Look at the language officials use in sworn testimony about these records: ‘could have,' ‘may have,' ‘potentially.' They're prevaricating. Every single one of those officials knows I don't have 1.7 million files, but what are they going to say? What senior official is going to go in front of Congress and say, ‘We have no idea what he has, because the N.S.A.'s auditing of systems holding hundreds of millions of Americans' data is so negligent that any high-school dropout can walk out the door with it?' "

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Edward Snowden, Edward Snowden leaks, National Security Agency

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