Snowden not a whistleblower, says US panel
A US congressional intelligence committee on Thursday issued a scathing report accusing former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of leaking information that "caused tremendous damage" to US national security, lying about his background and feuding with co-workers.
In a report endorsed by both its Republican and Democratic leaders, the House intelligence committee said Snowden was "not a whistleblower" as he has claimed.
Most of the material he stole from the NSA was not about invasions of privacy, but revealed intelligence and defense programs of great interest to America's foreign adversaries, it said.
The committee said that while the "full scope" of damage caused by Snowden's disclosures remains unknown, a review of materials he allegedly compromised "makes clear that he handed over secrets that protect American troops overseas and secrets that provide vital defenses against terrorists and nation-states."
The committee released only a four-page summary of what it said was a 36-page investigative report that remains Top Secret.
On Wednesday, prominent human rights advocates urged President Barack Obama to pardon Snowden before leaving office in January.
US officials have said Obama is not considering a pardon for Snowden, who is facing US criminal charges for providing classified information to unauthorized persons.
Ben Wizner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents Snowden, dismissed the House committee report as lacking substance.
Wizner said the report's release a day before the Snowden film opens "is evidence that people in the intelligence community are taking us seriously, that they are concerned that Oliver Stone's movie will help solidify Snowden's image as a true patriot, which he is."b
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