Snowden defends Comey’s disclosure of Trump memo

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden on Thursday defended former FBI Director James Comey’s efforts to publicly disclose memos of his interactions with President Trump.

“Even if details leaked by the FBI Director fell under confidentiality obligations, the public’s need to know here is the superior obligation,” Snowden wrote on Twitter.

This FBI Director has sought for years to jail me on account of my political activities. If I can oppose his firing, so can you. https://t.co/zUp5kquy8q

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) May 9, 2017

Comey acknowledged in a bombshell testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier Thursday that he had authorized a friend to share with a reporter the content of a personal memo detailing a conversation between him and Trump.

The memo, which Comey wrote contemporaneously, documented his Oval Office meeting with Trump in February when the president allegedly asked him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

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In doing so, Comey said, he hoped it would prompt the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to lead the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the election.

In a statement pushing back on portions of Comey’s testimony, Trump’s personal attorney Marc Kasowitz accused the fired FBI chief of improperly leaking privileged information to the press.

Snowden rose to notoriety in 2013 when he leaked droves of NSA documents to reporters detailing sweeping foreign and domestic surveillance by the U.S. government. After the disclosures, Snowden fled the U.S. before eventually claiming asylum in Russia.

The relationship between Snowden and Comey has been fraught in the past. The former top cop has generally dismissed claims that Snowden is a whistleblower, arguing that he simply broke the law in his disclosures.

The former NSA contractor, however, stood up for Comey in the wake of his abrupt firing last month, saying: “If I can oppose his firing, so can you.”

“This FBI Director has sought for years to jail me on account of my political activities. If I can oppose his firing, so can you,” he tweeted.

Even if details leaked by the FBI Director fell under confidentiality obligations, the public’s need to know here is the superior obligation https://t.co/eKHt2ZLp9A

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) June 8, 2017