Edward Snowden is an American whistleblower who, while working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a subcontractor in 2013, copied and disclosed highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA). The US Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden on two counts of breaking the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property on his 30th birthday, June 21, 2013, and the Department of State revoked his passport.

Quick Facts About Edward Snowden

How much is the net worth of Edward Snowden?

Edward Snowden specific income has yet to be released. Edward’s  net worth was projected to be at USD 8.6 million, He is making a good living from his current job but there is no doubt in the minds of his supporters. His revenues come from his work as a whistleblower. He is happy with his wages.

Russian President Vladimir Putit grants Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden

MOSES — Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency who has come forward, has been given Russian citizenship. In a proclamation published on Monday to the Kremlin website, Russian President Vladimir Putin verified the news.

Edward Snowden claims to be pursuing a Russian citizenship application. Edward Snowden claims to be pursuing a Russian citizenship application.

In 2013, Snowden made his first trip to Russia after disclosing top-secret documents that exposed the U.S. government’s extensive domestic and global surveillance network. The Kremlin then granted him shelter, notwithstanding the United States’ pursuit of espionage allegations.

Since Snowden and his wife were expecting their first child during the outbreak, they revealed in 2020 that they had requested for Russian citizenship.

The whistleblower has upheld — and justified — his silence about the Kremlin’s recent actions in Ukraine, claiming that his opinions were no longer “helpful” after he incorrectly claimed that U.S. intelligence was deficient in foreseeing a Russian strike on its neighbor.

( Article Source: NPR.org.)

US government sues Edward Snowden over his memoir:

• Justice Department says Snowden violated nondisclosure agreements by publishing ‘Permanent Record’ without gov’t review.
• The United States filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who in 2013 leaked secret documents about US telephone and Internet surveillance, saying his new book violates non-disclosure agreements. The Justice Department is seeking to “recover all proceeds” from Snowden’s book, which was released Tuesday.
• In his memoir, Snowden tells his life story in detail for the first time and explains why he chose to risk his freedom to become perhaps the most famous whistle-blower of all time. It offers an expansive account of how he came to reveal secret details about the government’s mass collection of emails, phone calls and Internet activity in the name of national security.
• On Tuesday, he tweeted a link to his book on Twitter, saying, “the government of the United States has just announced a lawsuit over my memoir, which was just released worldwide. This is the book the government does not want you to read.” Ben Wizner, Snowden’s attorney and director of the American Civil Liberties’ Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, said the memoir “contains no government secrets that have not been previously published by respected news organizations”.
• He added, “Had Mr. Snowden believed that the government would review his book in good faith, he would have submitted it for review. But the government continues to insist that facts that are known and discussed throughout the world are still somehow classified.”

Where is Edward Snowden?

Edward Joseph Snowden was born in North Carolina, United States, on June 21, 1983. His father was a coast guard officer, and mother was a top deputy in the US district court in Maryland. Joseph father’s name is Lonnie, and mother’s name is Elizabeth. His granddad worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a lot of years. He added that he had known since he was a child that he would join his family in serving the federal government.

Snowden’s parents separated when he was a teenager, but he didn’t let that affect his academic performance, and he continued to excel. His mind was sharp, and he had an I.Q. of well over 140, putting him within a select group of exceptionally intelligent people. Due to illness, he had to miss several days of high school. Edward broke down and enrolled in ‘Anne Arundel Community College.

‘ By taking courses online, he acquired a master’s degree from the ‘University of Liverpool.’ He became a Buddhist at the age of twenty. He also has a sister named Jessica. In the year 2019, he celebrated his 36th birthday with friends and family.

Body Measurements of Edward:

Edward, who has white skin and short hair with a very short beard, is nevertheless quite attractive at the age of 36. He has a charming personality and a pleasant demeanor. He stands at a height of 5 feet and weighs 75 kilograms. His eye color is green, and his hair is light brown. He has a healthy body in general.

What is Edward Snowden doing? Professional Career

• Firstly in the year 2006, Edward Snowden started his career at the ‘Central Intelligence Agency’ (CIA) as an IT professional.
• Secondly he was stationed with a diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland for maintaining computer-network security.
• Edward later discovered the surveillance system which infiltrated the privacy of the general public and started collecting documents.
• After that, he went on to work with ‘Dell’ in one of NSA’s offices in Japan where he worked as a sub-contractor from 2009 until 2013.
• He was assigned to an ‘NSA’ facility at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo.
• XKeyscore is an analytical tool that allows for collection of “almost anything done on the internet,” was described by The Guardian as a program that shed light on one of Snowden’s most controversial statements: “I, sitting at my desk [could] wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email.”
• After leaving ‘Dell,’ he went on to work for another tech consultant company called ‘Booz Allen Hamilton’ where he worked for three months.
• He then found out the practices which he thought were immoral, unethical, and needed to be halted immediately.
• He went on to build a dossier of all the information he collected, which he thought was necessary to prove his point.
• Once he was done with collecting the relevant documents he took a medical leave, stating that he suffered from epilepsy.

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• He then arranged for a meeting with a journalist from ‘The Guardian’ and then made contact with a documentary filmmaker named Laura Poitras.
• The information was officially presented to the whole world through ‘The Guardian’ in June 2013, where it stated that the Americans’ phones were getting tapped without their knowledge and some of them were being kept under surveillance.
• The information was gathered through ‘PRISM,’ a program devised by the ‘NSA.’
• The world was shaken and ‘NSA’ went bitter as Edward kept addressing the media from Hong Kong.
• He told he wouldn’t allow this to happen and that the privacy of the general public was being monitored every second of the day, infringing the basic rights of human beings to be free.
• The US government replied to the leaks almost immediately and charged Snowden with the accusations of ‘theft of government properties’ and ‘illegal communication of intelligence information to an unauthorized person’ under the espionage act.
• His leaks paved the way to unearth crucial matters, such as the ‘Black Budget’ which exposed the work of the 16 spy agencies working under the US Intelligence and their handiwork in persuading private companies to reveal and provide access to their communication network.
• He moved out of Hong Kong and went to Russia, but he got stranded at the airport for close to a month due to issues with his passport.
• But the Russian government allowed him to stay in the country and rejected several of America’s requests to extradite him.

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• Although , Americans considered him a national hero and came up with a petition to free Snowden of all the charges.
• Later, he continued living in Russia while Barack Obama asked the intelligence agencies to look into the matter and reconsider their security protocols.
• In October 2013, he claimed that he didn’t have the ‘NSA’ documents with him anymore and that he had given it all to the journalists in Hong Kong, fearing Russians might use them for their benefit.
• He stayed in Russia for an indefinite period of exile, but he remains a controversial figure in America.
• He also made a much-awaited appearance at the Southwest festival through teleconferencing in March 2014.
• In May, he cleared the air and said that he was a patriot and the welfare of his country’s people is on his priority list and that he would want to return to his homeland.
• In the year 2014, ‘Citizenfour,’ a documentary film on the life of Snowden, made by Poitras, came out and received huge critical acclaim, eventually winning an ‘Oscar.’
• Edward has constantly denied allegations of being a traitor to his country. Although he believes that what he needed as the general public had to be told how the government was keeping a watch all the time.
• He made another revelation in November 2018, when he produced a court declaration in the ‘Jewel vs NSA’ case where the ‘Electronic Frontier Foundation’ (EFF) had accused ‘NSA’ and other high-ranking officials of ‘illegal and unconstitutional program of dragnet communications surveillance’ under the George W. Bush administration.

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• On 17th September 2019, the United States filed a lawsuit against Snowden for alleged violations of non-disclosure agreements with the CIA and NSA.
• However in September 2019, as part of interviews relating to the release of his memoirs, “Permanent Record”, he revealed to the Guardian that he married Lindsay Mills in a courthouse in Moscow.
• His memoir, “Permanent Record” published.On 17th September 2019, (Constitution Day).

 Who is the wife of Edward Snowden?

In America, Edward Snowden met Lindsay Mills and the two began dating. He broke up with her just before revealing the top-secret material, citing her safety as his primary concern. She moved to Russia with him when he moved there, and they have been together ever since.

Mills made an appearance at the ‘Oscar’ award ceremony in 2015, where Poitras won the trophy for ‘Citizenfour.’ As of now, the couple is living a joyful life free of conflict.