If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political crime. A political crime, in legal terms, is defined as any crime against a state, as opposed to against an individual. Assassination, for example, is not a political crime because you've killed a person, an individual, and they've been harmed; their family's been harmed. But the state itself, you can't be extradited for harming it.
Edward SnowdenI describe myself as an indoor cat, because I'm a computer guy and I always have been.
Edward SnowdenPeople say that [i'm a celebrity], but I've only had to sign autographs for "civ-libs" types. And I autograph court orders.
Edward SnowdenWe are no longer citizens, we no longer have leaders. We're subjects, and we have rulers.
Edward SnowdenAll those people who went out [to Occupy Wall Street] missed work, didn't get paid. Those were individuals who were already feeling the effects of inequality, so they didn't have a lot to lose. And then the individuals who were louder, more disruptive and, in many ways, more effective at drawing attention to their concerns were immediately castigated by authorities. They were cordoned off, pepper-sprayed, thrown in jail.
Edward SnowdenThe US government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me. Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped.
Edward SnowdenWe've seen a departure from the traditional work of the National Security Agency. They've become sort of the national hacking agency, the national surveillance agency. And they've lost sight of the fact that everything they do is supposed to make us more secure as a nation and a society.
Edward Snowden