Wait, What? Snowden Caught Hacking By CIA in 2009?

In a New York Times report, we now learn that Edward Snowden was caught trying hack into classified information as early as 2009 and was reprimanded and dismissed by the CIA. This puts into question the narrative carefully crafted by himself and enablers like Glenn Greenwald.

Edward Snowden and the ‘journalists’ who helped him leak Classified information earlier this year have always maintained that an accelerated expansion of public surveillance by the NSA lead to the so-called whistleblowing. Snowden, we were told, is a reluctant hero willing to sacrifice himself to save the people of the world from evil government overreach. He didn’t want to break into the computers, remove all that sensitive information and jump on a plane – but simply had no choice.

In his now-famous interview with Greenwald from a luxury Hong Kong hotel, Snowden claims things finally reached a tipping point for him earlier this year:

“But over time that awareness of wrongdoing sort of builds up and you feel compelled to talk about. And the more you talk about the more you’re ignored. The more you’re told its not a problem until eventually you realize that these things need to be determined by the public and not by somebody who was simply hired by the government.”

But learning that his attempts to break into government files far predate his NSA employment seems to point to some sort of personal vendetta against the United States and a long-standing compulsion to obtain classified information. This is not the behavior of a man overwhelmed by troubling information and left no choice but to break the law.  This is someone on a fishing expedition looking for something – anything – to disrupt a national security program.

What was he looking for?

Just as Edward J. Snowden was preparing to leave Geneva and a job as a C.I.A. technician in 2009, his supervisor wrote a derogatory report in his personnel file, noting a distinct change in the young man’s behavior and work habits, as well as a troubling suspicion.

The C.I.A. suspected that Mr. Snowden was trying to break into classified computer files to which he was not authorized to have access…

Few would argue that secret surveillance programs need to be reevaluated some 12 years after 9/11. I will even begrudgingly admit Snowdens actions have spurred important discussions about this. But his true motives, and the motives of his enablers, become even murkier with this revelation. Those troubled with his actions, and his decision to flee with our private information to Hong Kong and now Russia, have more fuel for their suspicions that benevolence was never the real reason behind the criminal activities of Edward Snowden.

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton