In early June, Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, worked with The Guardian and Washington Post to release a number of leaks regarding the NSA’s spy programs. In that first week, The Guardian also released a video interview with Snowden in which he touched upon the programs and why he decided to become a whistleblower.
Now, The Guardian has released the second part of its interview with Snowden. It was filmed last month, but it seems more appropriate now than ever before as he accurately predicts how the U.S. will respond to his activities:
In the month since this interview was recorded, a lot has happened. Snowden fled Hong Kong to avoid being picked up by the FBI and is now at a Moscow airport awaiting replies to his asylum requests. As for back home, the NSA and its affiliates have been caught lying to Congress twice. Members of Congress are also calling for legislation to scale back the agency’s power, while others, including President Obama, defend the agency saying that everything must be kept secret for a secret reason while assuring us that Americans are not targeted (spoilers: they are).
Some intrepid filmmakers from Hong Kong have even already made a movie about Snowden. It’s pretty good.
Even after all of the above, none of this is over by a long shot. Various outlets are still publishing Snowden’s leaks, and there’s always the chance that he could be arrested and sent back to the U.S. If that ever happens, however, he says that an encrypted treasure trove of NSA data will be unlocked and shared with the world.
