‘Mistakes will be made’... Contempt of ex-spy
THIS a transcript of Snowden’s interview:
JOHN OLIVER: How many of those documents have you actually read?
EDWARD SNOWDEN: I’ve evaluated all of the documents that are in the archive.
OLIVER: You’ve read every single one?
SNOWDEN: I do understand what I turned over.
OLIVER: There’s a difference between understanding what’s in the documents and reading what’s in the documents.
SNOWDEN: I recognize the concern.
OLIVER (cuts in sarcastically): Right, because when you’re handing over thousands of NSA documents, the last thing you want to do is read them. (laughter)
SNOWDEN: I think it’s fair to be concerned – did this person do enough, were they careful enough?
OLIVER (cuts in): Especially when you’re handling material like we know you’re handling.
SNOWDEN: In my defence I’m not handling anything any more. That’s been passed to the journalists and they’re using extraordinary security measures to make sure this is being reported in the most responsible way.
OLIVER: But those are journalists with a lower technical skill set than you.
SNOWDEN: That’s true but they do understand like you and I do just how important it is to get this right.
OLIVER: The New York Times
took a slide, it didn’t redact it properly and in the end it was possible to see that something was being used in Mosul on Al Qaeda.
SNOWDEN: That is a
problem.
OLIVER: Well, that’s a
f***-up.
SNOWDEN: It is a f***-up and these things do happen in reporting. In journalism we have to accept that some mistakes will be made. This is a fundamental concept of liberty.
OLIVER: Right, but you have to own that then. You’re giving documents with information that you know could be harmful which could get out there.
SNOWDEN: Yes, if people act in bad faith.
OLIVER (cuts in): We’re not even talking about bad faith, we’re talking about incompetence.
SNOWDEN: We are, but you will never be completely free from risk if you’re free. The only time you can be free from risk is when you’re in prison.