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Edward Snowden admitted he had not read every NSA document he handed over to journalists in an interview with comedian John Oliver, as the HBO host posed uncomfortable questions to the NSA whistleblower in Moscow.
When Oliver asked "How many of those documents have you actually read?" Snowden averred: "I've evaluated all the documents that are in the archive."
When pressed, he said "I do understand what I turned over" and acknowledged "I recognise the concern" about whether he knew enough of the documents' details or technical abilities of journalists to protect certain details.
Oliver then asked Snowden not whether his actions were right or wrong but whether they could be dangerous simply due to the incompetence of others. The host claimed that the improper redaction of a document by the New York Times exposed intelligence activity against al-Qaeda.
"That is a problem," Snowden replied.
"Well, that's a f***-up,"Oliver shot back, forcing Snowden to agree.
"That is a f***-up," Snowden replied. "In journalism we have to accept that some mistakes will be made. This is a fundamental concept of liberty."
"But you have to own that then," Oliver replied. "You're giving documents with information you know could be harmful ... We're not even talking about bad faith, we're talking about incompetence."
Seeming surprised by the conversation's turn, Snowden conceded his actions carried dangers regardless of his intentions. "But you will never be completely free from risk if you're free," he said. "The only time you can be free from risk is when you're in prison."
The comedian also confronted Snowden with the problem of American apathy towards the mass surveillance he uncovered. Americans don't care about invisible NSA overreach in the complex warrens of the internet, Oliver argued.
But if Americans understood the hands of the NSA had latched on to their explicit photos, people would riot, Oliver suggested.
"Well, the good news is there's no programme named the 'd*** pic program',"replied Snowden. "The bad news is they're still collecting everybody's information, including your d*** pics."
Snowden linked Americans’ habit of sending each other explicit photos to a broader pitch about courage and liberty: “You shouldn’t change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing."
Oliver also joked with Snowden about whether he misses Hot Pockets and Florida. Snowden said he missed the former very much; of the latter he revealed nothing.


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Edward Snowden

Snowden admits not reading all documents in interview with comedian John Oliver

Edward Snowden is interviewed by comedian John Oliver.

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World

Whistleblower grilled over his actions in interview with comedian John Oliver


Edward Snowden admitted he had not read every NSA document he handed over to journalists in an interview with comedian John Oliver, as the HBO host posed uncomfortable questions to the NSA whistleblower in Moscow.


Comedians and comedy