Glenn Greenwald: journalist who broke Snowden story faces hacking charges in Brazil
- Brazil prosecutors claimed Greenwald, co-founder of The Intercept, was part of a ‘criminal organisation’
- Charges come after website published leaked messages that embarrassed top officials and threatened to undermine a massive corruption probe
Brazilian prosecutors charged US journalist Glenn Greenwald on Tuesday with assisting a group of hackers who intercepted the mobile phone calls of Justice Minister Sergio Moro when he was the judge handling Brazil’s biggest-ever corruption case.
The Intercept Brasil website edited by Greenwald published damaging conversations between Moro and prosecutors in the Car Wash investigation that showed the judge advising them in the case against now jailed former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“We’re going to defend a free press like we always have,” Greenwald said in a video message posted on his Twitter account.
“We’re not going to be intimidated by the Bolsonaro government. I’m continuing right this very minute to work on our next series of stories.”
Greenwald was charged with criminal association with a group of six people who face charges of hacking the phones of Brazilian officials as well as bank fraud and money laundering.