SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Snowden: Prepared for Prison, But Won't Serve to Discourage Other Whistleblowers
In new BBC interview, Edward Snowden describes his attempts to reach plea deal and reveals how spy agencies can unlock your smartphone at will
Oct 05, 2015
Edward Snowden repeatedly reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice in search of a plea deal--and even expressed willingness to serve time in prison--but has so far received no response, the NSA whistleblower told BBC Panorama in an interview slated to air Monday night.
"I've volunteered to go to prison with the government many times," said Snowden, who is currently living under asylum protection in Russia. "What I won't do is I won't serve as a deterrent to people trying to do the right thing in difficult situations."
Asked if he is prepared to face jail, Snowden answered: "Of course."
Despite his willingness to submit to some level of incarceration, Snowden said the DOJ has yet to respond to those gestures. "We are still waiting for them to call us back," he told the BBC.
The revelation comes months after former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder said the "possibility exists" that Snowden, who is wanted for charges under the Espionage Act, could reach a plea deal with the U.S.
Others, however, have struck a far harsher tone. Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA, told Panorama in Monday's interview that Snowden is "going to die in Moscow. He's not coming home."
Snowden insisted in his Panorama interview that he is a whistleblower, not a spy or a traitor.
And people around the world agree. Two years after Snowden's disclosures to journalists sparked a global debate about U.S., UK, and international mass surveillance, many are taking inspiration from his revelations.
The 32-year-old has been lauded around the world, and many are calling for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Last month, a new global pact, introduced as the "Snowden Treaty," was launched by civil liberties advocates to "curtail mass surveillance and protect the rights of whistleblowers."
In a separate segment, Snowden revealed that British spy agency GCHQ has the ability to control smart phones.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Edward Snowden repeatedly reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice in search of a plea deal--and even expressed willingness to serve time in prison--but has so far received no response, the NSA whistleblower told BBC Panorama in an interview slated to air Monday night.
"I've volunteered to go to prison with the government many times," said Snowden, who is currently living under asylum protection in Russia. "What I won't do is I won't serve as a deterrent to people trying to do the right thing in difficult situations."
Asked if he is prepared to face jail, Snowden answered: "Of course."
Despite his willingness to submit to some level of incarceration, Snowden said the DOJ has yet to respond to those gestures. "We are still waiting for them to call us back," he told the BBC.
The revelation comes months after former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder said the "possibility exists" that Snowden, who is wanted for charges under the Espionage Act, could reach a plea deal with the U.S.
Others, however, have struck a far harsher tone. Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA, told Panorama in Monday's interview that Snowden is "going to die in Moscow. He's not coming home."
Snowden insisted in his Panorama interview that he is a whistleblower, not a spy or a traitor.
And people around the world agree. Two years after Snowden's disclosures to journalists sparked a global debate about U.S., UK, and international mass surveillance, many are taking inspiration from his revelations.
The 32-year-old has been lauded around the world, and many are calling for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Last month, a new global pact, introduced as the "Snowden Treaty," was launched by civil liberties advocates to "curtail mass surveillance and protect the rights of whistleblowers."
In a separate segment, Snowden revealed that British spy agency GCHQ has the ability to control smart phones.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Edward Snowden repeatedly reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice in search of a plea deal--and even expressed willingness to serve time in prison--but has so far received no response, the NSA whistleblower told BBC Panorama in an interview slated to air Monday night.
"I've volunteered to go to prison with the government many times," said Snowden, who is currently living under asylum protection in Russia. "What I won't do is I won't serve as a deterrent to people trying to do the right thing in difficult situations."
Asked if he is prepared to face jail, Snowden answered: "Of course."
Despite his willingness to submit to some level of incarceration, Snowden said the DOJ has yet to respond to those gestures. "We are still waiting for them to call us back," he told the BBC.
The revelation comes months after former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder said the "possibility exists" that Snowden, who is wanted for charges under the Espionage Act, could reach a plea deal with the U.S.
Others, however, have struck a far harsher tone. Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA, told Panorama in Monday's interview that Snowden is "going to die in Moscow. He's not coming home."
Snowden insisted in his Panorama interview that he is a whistleblower, not a spy or a traitor.
And people around the world agree. Two years after Snowden's disclosures to journalists sparked a global debate about U.S., UK, and international mass surveillance, many are taking inspiration from his revelations.
The 32-year-old has been lauded around the world, and many are calling for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Last month, a new global pact, introduced as the "Snowden Treaty," was launched by civil liberties advocates to "curtail mass surveillance and protect the rights of whistleblowers."
In a separate segment, Snowden revealed that British spy agency GCHQ has the ability to control smart phones.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.