This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/us/politics/congressional-leaders-suggest-snowden-was-working-for-russia.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Congressional Leaders Suggest Earlier Snowden Link to Russia | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The heads of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees suggested on Sunday that Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, may have been working for Russian spy services while he was employed at an agency facility in Hawaii last year and before he disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified government documents. | WASHINGTON — The heads of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees suggested on Sunday that Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, may have been working for Russian spy services while he was employed at an agency facility in Hawaii last year and before he disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified government documents. |
| The lawmakers, Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, offered no specific evidence that Mr. Snowden cooperated with Moscow. So far, there has been no public indication that the F.B.I.'s investigation into Mr. Snowden’s actions, bolstered by separate “damage assessment” investigations at the N.S.A. and the Pentagon, has uncovered evidence that Mr. Snowden received help from a foreign intelligence service. | The lawmakers, Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, offered no specific evidence that Mr. Snowden cooperated with Moscow. So far, there has been no public indication that the F.B.I.'s investigation into Mr. Snowden’s actions, bolstered by separate “damage assessment” investigations at the N.S.A. and the Pentagon, has uncovered evidence that Mr. Snowden received help from a foreign intelligence service. |
| But Mr. Rogers, in particular, referred to a recent classified report by the Defense Intelligence Agency that he has described in other interviews as concluding that Mr. Snowden stole approximately 1.7 million intelligence files that concern vital operations of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. He said that it would cost billions of dollars to change operations because of the security breaches. | But Mr. Rogers, in particular, referred to a recent classified report by the Defense Intelligence Agency that he has described in other interviews as concluding that Mr. Snowden stole approximately 1.7 million intelligence files that concern vital operations of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. He said that it would cost billions of dollars to change operations because of the security breaches. |
| The defense intelligence report remains classified, though some members of Congress have been briefed on it in recent weeks. | The defense intelligence report remains classified, though some members of Congress have been briefed on it in recent weeks. |
| “I believe there’s questions to be answered there,” Mr. Rogers said on the NBC program “Meet the Press.” “I don’t think it was a gee-whiz luck event that he ended up in Moscow under the handling of the F.S.B.,” he said, referring to the Federal Security Service, the Russian state security organization that succeeded the K.G.B. | “I believe there’s questions to be answered there,” Mr. Rogers said on the NBC program “Meet the Press.” “I don’t think it was a gee-whiz luck event that he ended up in Moscow under the handling of the F.S.B.,” he said, referring to the Federal Security Service, the Russian state security organization that succeeded the K.G.B. |
| Ben Wizner, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who advises Mr. Snowden, said in a telephone interview on Sunday that the accusation that Mr. Snowden had been recruited by Russian spy services before he left Hawaii was “not only false, it is silly.” | Ben Wizner, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who advises Mr. Snowden, said in a telephone interview on Sunday that the accusation that Mr. Snowden had been recruited by Russian spy services before he left Hawaii was “not only false, it is silly.” |
| Mr. Wizner also criticized Mr. Rogers’ description of the defense agency report as “exaggerated national security claims.” | Mr. Wizner also criticized Mr. Rogers’ description of the defense agency report as “exaggerated national security claims.” |
| A senior official with access to the intelligence on Mr. Snowden said that American suspicions had been raised in part because of changes that have taken place in information that Mr. Snowden is believed to have stored since he left the United States. Investigators believe that data is being stored by an Internet cloud service, though it is unclear who has access to it. The United States is concerned that Russian agents may have access to the data while Mr. Snowden is in the country under temporary asylum, or in exchange for his asylum. | A senior official with access to the intelligence on Mr. Snowden said that American suspicions had been raised in part because of changes that have taken place in information that Mr. Snowden is believed to have stored since he left the United States. Investigators believe that data is being stored by an Internet cloud service, though it is unclear who has access to it. The United States is concerned that Russian agents may have access to the data while Mr. Snowden is in the country under temporary asylum, or in exchange for his asylum. |
| “Something more was going on there, and because of the nature of the information that was stolen,” Mr. Rogers said in a separate appearance on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” adding that it had “nothing to do with Americans’ privacy, a lot to do with our operations overseas.” | “Something more was going on there, and because of the nature of the information that was stolen,” Mr. Rogers said in a separate appearance on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” adding that it had “nothing to do with Americans’ privacy, a lot to do with our operations overseas.” |
| Ms. Feinstein, when asked by David Gregory, the host of “Meet the Press,” whether she agreed with Mr. Rogers that Mr. Snowden may have had help from the Russians, was more tentative: “He may well have. We don’t know at this stage.” | Ms. Feinstein, when asked by David Gregory, the host of “Meet the Press,” whether she agreed with Mr. Rogers that Mr. Snowden may have had help from the Russians, was more tentative: “He may well have. We don’t know at this stage.” |
| Both lawmakers said their committees would continue to pursue these suspicions. | Both lawmakers said their committees would continue to pursue these suspicions. |
| Mr. Snowden has been living in Russia since June. In an interview with The New York Times last October, Mr. Snowden said he did not take any secret N.S.A. documents with him to Russia when he fled there, ensuring that Russian intelligence officials could not get access to them. | Mr. Snowden has been living in Russia since June. In an interview with The New York Times last October, Mr. Snowden said he did not take any secret N.S.A. documents with him to Russia when he fled there, ensuring that Russian intelligence officials could not get access to them. |