A political decision has been made not to irritate the intelligence community. The spy agencies are really embarrassed, they're really sore - the revelations really hurt their mystique. The last ten years, they were getting the Zero Dark Thirty treatment - they're the heroes. The surveillance revelations bring them back to Big Brother kind of narratives, and they don't like that at all.

I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end.

I know that fundamentally, changes to the fabric of the internet, and sort of our methods of communication, can enforce our rights.

The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything.

I'm saying we need to be aware of it, and we need to be able to distinguish when political developments are occurring that are contrary to the public interest.

Citizens with a conscience are not going to ignore wrong-doing simply because they'll be destroyed for it: the conscience forbids it.

I know the media likes to personalize political debates, and I know the government will demonize me.