Whistleblower charged with espionage and theft
Source: Agencies |
June 23, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE US Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case.
Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.
A criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act.
Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.
The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowden's former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.
The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the leak of information about the two programs in which the NSA gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.
The complaint could become an integral part of a US government effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could turn into a prolonged legal battle.
The Espionage Act arguably is a political offense.
The Obama administration has now used the act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks.
Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.
A criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act.
Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.
The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowden's former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.
The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the leak of information about the two programs in which the NSA gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.
The complaint could become an integral part of a US government effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could turn into a prolonged legal battle.
The Espionage Act arguably is a political offense.
The Obama administration has now used the act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks.
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