USA TODAY: Edward Snowden said Monday that his decision to expose National Security Agency surveillance programs was vindicated by a federal judge’s ruling that the mass collection of phone data is probably unconstitutional.
“I acted on my belief that the N.S.A.’s mass surveillance programs would not withstand a constitutional challenge, and that the American public deserved a chance to see these issues determined by open courts,” Snowden, who resides in Russia under temporary political asylum, said in a statement. “Today, a secret program authorized by a secret court was, when exposed to the light of day, found to violate Americans’ rights. It is the first of many.”
Snowden’s statement was passed to The New York Times by journalist Glenn Greenwald, who while working for the Guardian broke the story about the bulk collection of data based on secret files the former NSA contractor shared. Two weeks ago, the Guardian’s editor said the newspaper had published only 1% of the material… (more)
