Former employee of the US National Security Agency (NSA) Edward Snowden denied agreeing to give the country the proceeds for the book with classified information “Personal File” (Permanent Record). He announced this on Twitter.
“CNN misreported this. This is not an agreement, I did not agree to it, ”wrote Snowden. He noted that a more interesting headline would be “The US May Get Up to $ 5 Million by Pardoning Edward Snowden.” The whistleblower clarified that the decisions of the American court against him at the moment are not subject to execution, since he is “in exile.”
On the eve of CNN reported that Snowden's proceeds, which he allegedly agreed to transfer in whole to the United States, amounted to more than $ 5 million. A US court ruled that his paid appearances and the book contained violations of a nondisclosure agreement that Snowden signed while working for intelligence. Before publishing the book, he did not agree on the content with former employers.
On August 16, it was reported that US President Donald Trump was thinking about pardoning Snowden.
In 2013, Snowden handed over documents to reporters from The Guardian and The Washington Post, which spoke about the program of American intelligence services to spy on both US citizens and residents of other countries. After that, he fled from the United States and at the same time asked for political asylum from several dozen countries, including Russia, where he eventually received a residence permit.
In the United States, Snowden is charged with the illegal transfer of information of great importance to national security, the willful transfer of intelligence information and theft of state property. In total, he faces up to 30 years in prison.
