MESSAGE
| DATE | 2022-08-11 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Remembering what is really important
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https://www.politico.eu/article/edward-snowden-book-us-justice-department/amp/
The U.S. Justice Department thinks Edward Snowden shouldn’t get to keep
the profits from his new memoir.
Instead, the agency argued in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, that money should
go back to the government.
The DOJ suit alleges that Snowden, the controversial whistleblower who
in 2013 exposed the extent of America’s surveillance apparatus, violated
nondisclosure agreements he signed while working at the NSA and CIA by
releasing his new book without first submitting it to the intelligence
agencies for review.
In a press release, the agency said it is not looking to halt sales of
Snowden’s memoir, but merely wants to recoup all proceeds from the book,
which is billed as Snowden’s personal account of the “story of his life,
including how he helped to build that system [of mass surveillance] and
what motivated him to try to bring it down.”
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The complaint alleges that not only did Snowden violate secrecy
agreements he signed while working as an employee and contractor at the
two intelligence agencies, but that he also breached his fiduciary
duties to the agencies.
Tuesday’s civil suit is separate from the criminal charges Snowden faces
over violating the Espionage Act and stealing government property. Those
charges stem from his orchestration of one of the largest intelligence
leaks in American history, which exposed secret American spying
programs, sparked a national dialogue about government snooping and
eventually led to legislation that curtailed the use of some spying tools.
Snowden, who’s been living in exile in Russia for the last six years,
has been doing a number of media appearances to promote his new book,
titled “Permanent Record,” which was released worldwide on Tuesday in
coordination with Constitution Day in the U.S.
The suit also names the book’s publishers, Macmillan and Holtzbrink, as
relief defendants, though DOJ said it is only suing them nominally “to
ensure that no funds are transferred to Snowden, or at his direction,”
while the case is litigated.
The complaint also cites a number of paid speeches Snowden has given
while holed up in Russia, where he’s been living under an asylum
agreement since leaving the U.S. in 2013.
“Intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide
personal profit,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, the U.S. attorney for the
Eastern District of Virginia, which will handle the suit along with
DOJ’s civil division. “This lawsuit will ensure that Edward Snowden
receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him.”
DOJ asserted that it has grounds to seize Snowden’s profits under the
precedent set by the 1980 Supreme Court decision in Snepp v. United
States, which involved a similar situation where a former CIA contractor
was sued for breach of contract after not submitting a book manuscript
for pre-publication review.
Snowden was defiant Tuesday, tweeting out a link to purchase the book on
Amazon and writing: “The government of the United States has just
announced a lawsuit over my memoir, which was just released today
worldwide. This is the book the government does not want you to read.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the
constitutionality of the pre-publication review process, backed up Snowden.
“This book contains no government secrets that have not been previously
published by respected news organizations,” said Ben Wizner, an attorney
for Snowden who runs the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.
“Had Mr. Snowden believed that the government would review his book in
good faith, he would have submitted it for review.”
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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