The autobiography of the whistleblower, exiled in Russia since his revelations, in 2013, on the CIA and the NSA, was released Tuesday in the United States, two days before France.
After a criminal charge, the US government now wants to cut the food of whistleblower Edward Snowden. Washington claimed in court on Tuesday, September 17, the seizure of recipes of his autobiography, released the same day, and the income he draws from his public interventions.
The United States filed a civil complaint for "Breach of contract" against this former CIA employee and ex-contractor of the NSA intelligence agency, who has been exiled to Russia since denouncing, in 2013, massive surveillance of communications and the Internet in his country. The former 36-year-old computer scientist is already charged with criminal espionage and theft of state secrets. "We do not allow people to get rich at the expense of the United States"said Jody Hunt, a senior official of the Justice Ministry, quoted in a statement.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Alexandria, near Washington, the government blames him for publishing a book containing information about the CIA and the NSA "Without submitting the manuscript" to his former employers in violation of the confidentiality clauses of his employment contracts.
The cinematographic adaptations also
"It's hard to imagine a better certificate of authenticity than a complaint from the US government"replied Snowden on Twitter. Released simultaneously in twenty countries, the book is published in the United States by Metropolitan Books (Macmillan) under the title Permanent record. The French version, titled RAM, published by Editions du Seuil.
It is hard to think of a greater stamp of authenticity than the US government filing lawsuit claiming your book … https://t.co/TFQUdAzwdb
In its complaint, the government also accuses Edward Snowden of having given in recent years several paid speeches without the approval of his former employers, still in violation of his commitments. His book and his speeches hurt the United States "Eroding trust in the CIA and the NSA" while "Snowden has been unjustly enriched in the process"can we read in the complaint.
As compensation, the government is claiming all the revenues from Edward Snowden's autobiography and possible film adaptations, as well as the amounts of money he receives for his public interventions. He is asking the court to issue an urgent injunction to prevent his US publishers from transferring funds.
The powerful American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an association for the defense of freedoms, flew to the rescue of the whistleblower. "The book does not contain any government secrets that have not already been published by respected media"said Ben Wizner, a lawyer specializing in technology and rights issues for the ACLU.
