National Security Agency (NSA) whistle-blower Edward Snowden, who is living in exile in Russia, is making the media rounds yet again to promote his new memoir, “Permanent Record.”
Snowden revealed in an interview with MSNBC’s Brian Williams on Monday that former Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry colluded to strong-arm countries into denying him asylum after he made his heroic sacrifice to expose illegal, ubiquitous spying by federal officials.
“I was going to Latin America and my final destination was hopefully going to be Ecuador. I applied for asylum in 27 different countries around the world. Places like France and Germany, places like Norway, that I felt the U.S. government and the American public could be comfortable, that was fine for a whistle-blower to be in, and yet every time one of these governments got close to opening their doors, the phone would ring in their foreign ministries and on the other end of the line would be a very senior American official,” Snowden explained.
“It was one of two people. Then-Secretary of State John Kerry or then vice president Joe Biden. And they would say, look, we don’t know what the law is, we don’t care if you can do this or not, we understand that protecting whistle-blowers is a matter of human rights and you could do this if you want to. But if you protect this man, if you let this guy out of Russia, there will be consequences. We’re not going to say what they’re going to be, but there will be a response,” he added.
Snowden made it clear that he never intended to be marooned in Russia, and that he is far from a Russian asset, but the hostile behavior from the leading Democratic Party presidential contender for 2020 and other Obama-era federal bureaucrats made it impossible for him to leave.
“I continue, to this day, to say, look, if the United States government, if these countries, are willing to open the door, that is not a hostile act. That is the act of a friend. If anything, if the United States continue is so concerned about Russia, right, shouldn’t they be happy for me to leave? And yet we see they’re trying so hard to prevent me from leaving. I would ask you, why is that?” Snowden asked.
The full interview can be seen here:
Snowden has also indicated that he wants to return home to the United States to face a trial for his charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden believes that if he can make his case to a jury of his peers and the public can follow the details of the trial closely, the risk would be worth the potential reward.
“I would like to return to the United States. That is the ultimate goal. But if I’m gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that is the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense,” Snowden said during a recent interview with “CBS This Morning.”
“Again, I’m not asking for a parade. I’m not asking for a pardon. I’m not asking for a pass. What I’m asking for is a fair trial. And this is the bottom line that any American should require,” Snowden explained. “We don’t want people thrown in prison without the jury being able to decide that what they did was right or wrong. The government wants to have a different kind of trial. They want to use special procedures they want to be able to close the courtroom, they want the public not to be able to go, know what’s going on.”
“And, essentially, the most important fact to the government and this is the thing we have a point of contention on, is that they do not want the jury to be able to consider the motivations. Why I did what I did. Was it better for the United States? Did it benefit us or did it cause harm? They don’t want the jury to consider that at all,” Snowden added.
Because of his patriotic pro-constitutional message, the NSA and other federal deep state entities are desperate to suppress his memoir. Their best efforts do not seem to be succeeding, as their ability to control the narrative slips away in the digital age.
Hours after the United States government filed a lawsuit seeking to punish the publication of my new memoir, #PermanentRecord, the very book the government does not want you to read just became the #1 best-selling book in the world. It is available wherever fine books are sold.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 17, 2019
