THANKS:
A supporter of fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden leaves a message at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London yesterday. (Reuters)
WASHINGTON — On-the-run leaker Edward Snowden admits he took a job with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton solely to get access to the National Security Agency’s trove of information.
“My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked,” Snowden told the South China Morning Post in a June 12 interview published yesterday.
“That is why I accepted that position about three months ago.”
Asked again if he went to Booz Allen specifically to gather evidence of surveillance, Snowden readily owned up to his premeditated plan: “Correct on Booz.”
He claimed his intention was to collect information about the NSA hacking into “the whole world” and “not specifically Hong Kong and China.”
Lawmakers said the admission puts Snowden in a legal jam if he ever is hauled back to the States.
“It’s evidence of intent, and it’s relevant to the sentencing if he were convicted,” said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a lawyer.
“It looks like he had a plan . . . when he went there to acquire information and divulge it,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), a former Intelligence Committee member and a lawyer. “It showed intent, big intent. You can’t prejudge the case, but that’s strong talk.”
Snowden’s flight from Hong Kong to Moscow set off a high-stakes diplomatic face-off between the US, China and Russia.
The newspaper Isvestia, close to the Kremlin, said security services would be interviewing Snowden while he was in Moscow awaiting transfer to his next stop.
The White House slammed Hong Kong for allowing Snowden to leave even after the US yanked his passport, while the administration faced questions about how the escape had occurred and how it would respond.
Even with reports that Snowden was seeking asylum in Ecuador, the US continued to pressure Russia to send him back to face American justice.
Snowden also told the South China Morning Post he’d like to leak more secrets after disseminating documents on a complex network of snooping on phone and Internet communications.
“If I have time to go through this information, I would like to make it available to journalists in each country to make their own assessment, independent of my bias, as to whether or not the knowledge of US network operations against their people should be published,” Snowden said.
He claimed to have information of hacking by the NSA into computers in Hong Kong and China.
“I did not release them earlier because I don’t want to simply dump huge amounts of documents without regard to their content,” he said.
State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell accused Snowden of damaging US security.
“Clearly, an oath was violated. Clearly, when you disclose sensitive national-security information, classified information, that’s a violation of the law,” he said.
“Those are very serious charges. And I can’t speculate on why he did so, but, clearly, it does harm to the United States.”
The White House stepped up its rhetoric against Russia.
“We expect the Russian authorities to examine all the options available to them to expel Mr. Snowden appropriately,” press secretary Jay Carney said.
“It’s safe to assume that information he has . . . is already compromised,” Carney added. “It is our understanding that Mr. Snowden remains in Russia.”
After Snowden’s disappearing act, Carney declared: “Unfortunately, Hong Kong inappropriately permitted a fugitive to leave their country in an obvious attempt to escape justice.”
He called it a “setback” to relations with China, warning there would be “repercussions.”
Carney said Snowden’s claim to support transparency was belied by his choice of safe havens — Russia, China and Ecuador.
“His failure to criticize these regimes suggests that his true motive throughout has been to injure the national security of the United States, not to advance Internet freedom and free speech,” he said.
Snowden was apparently booked on a flight from Moscow to Havana, Cuba. But journalists on the flight never saw him and took photos of empty seats.
President Obama, at an immigration event at the White House, was reserved when asked whether he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“What we know is, is that we’re following all of the appropriate legal channels, and working with various other countries to make sure that rule of law is observed. And beyond that, I’ll refer to the Justice Department,” he said.
The reaction on Capitol Hill was deep anger.
“Edward Snowden is not a whistleblower worthy of protection but a fugitive deserving of prosecution,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ). “He violated his sworn pledge to protect classified information. He jeopardized our national security. And he betrayed the trust of the American people. This man is no hero.”