Snowden Disputes ‘Obvious Falsehoods’ in House Intel Report
HITTING BACK
Says it also “exonerates” him.
Vincent Kessler/Reuters
Edward Snowden fired back Thursday after a newly declassified House Intelligence Committee report claimed that the NSA leaker is in contact with Russian intelligence services. “Unsurprising that HPSCI’s report is rifled with obvious falsehoods,” Snowden tweeted Thursday morning. “The only surprise is how accidentally exonerating it is.” In a series of subsequent tweets, Snowden said the U.S. government was unable to produce any evidence that he was in contact with Russian intelligence services, and added that he has been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and of Russia in general. The way in which the report exonerates Snowden, he said, is that it documents him “going, again and again—over years, despite punishments—to superiors to report complaints of waste, fraud, and abuse.” He said the report does not mention how his revelations spurred a change in U.S. policy, and the journalists who reported on them were rewarded with Pulitzer prizes.