Snowden says the Russians and the Chinese did not receive classified info.

From what I can tell, most people here think Snowden is irrelevant in terms of his innocence or guilt, if he revealed any classified info to other countries, what seems the most important in their minds is what he revealed to the world about the government has been doing to its citizens in terms of spying.

I can see their point, however, I think equally, the way that Snowden copied classified information and took it out of the country in own hands and went to other countries was wrong, period. Who knows what he revealed and what he got in exchange. I personally don't take his word for it.

The notion that the Russians and Chinese did not receive classified info is an absurdity on its face.

EVERYBODY ON THE PLANET received classified info from Snowden...including the Russians and Chinese...unless Snowden is alleging those people cannot gain access to newspapers that published classified document that he furnished

“There’s a zero percent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents,” he said.

Frank Apisa wrote:

The notion that the Russians and Chinese did not receive classified info is an absurdity on its face.

EVERYBODY ON THE PLANET received classified info from Snowden...including the Russians and Chinese...unless Snowden is alleging those people cannot gain access to newspapers that published classified document that he furnished

Besides some uninformed, no-one else said so.
Snowden has said he left all the leaked documents behind when he flew from Hong Kong to Moscow and there is no chance of them falling into the hands of Russian or Chinese authorities.

I've looked it up, and actually besides some here, everyone else thinks that Snowden gave all the materials he had to journalists ... in Hong Kong, as it is said now.

Quote:

“There’s a zero percent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents,” he said.

More at yesterday's NYT-report: Snowden Says He Took No Secret Files to Russia

Quite so, Walter. But I am responding to this thread. Look at its title. It is to that title (and the perception of many that it is the way things are) that I aimed my remarks.

Whether Snowden actually brought documents to the Chinese and Russians is largely irrelevant. He stole secret documents...and released that information to the press. In effect, he stole secret documents and gave them to the Chinese and Russians.

Frank Apisa wrote:

Quite so, Walter. But I am responding to this thread. Look at its title. It is to that title (and the perception of many that it is the way things are) that I aimed my remarks.

Whether Snowden actually brought documents to the Chinese and Russians is largely irrelevant. He stole secret documents...and released that information to the press. In effect, he stole secret documents and gave them to the Chinese and Russians.

The title is definitely wrong because Snowden didn't say such (and the original interview is available, both printed as online).

You are wrong when you write "he released that information to the press".
He didn't - what you actually should know, since you respond to various threads about since quite some time.

I'm no expert in US-law nor a native English-American speaker.
But here, neither semantically nor legally he had given documents to the Chinese and Russians.
So you certainly can be correct from the American legal view and use of language.

What do you mean that he did not release the documents or the information to the press?

We only have his word and Greenwald and MacAskill what he gave what to whoever.

Snowden allegedly stole government classified documents and gave them to people not authorized to have them. There ares laws against that...and he apparently broke those laws. He is charged with that criminality.

Frank Apisa wrote:

What do you mean that he did not release the documents or the information to the press?

What I wrote: "He did not release the documents or the information to the press".
He gave them to Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill (of the Guardian), and the independent filmmaker Laura Poitras.
And they decided to publish some and more in future in the Guardian (and Observer), the New York Times and Spiegel.

He gave them to Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill (of the Guardian), and the independent filmmaker Laura Poitras.
And they decided to publish some and more in future in the Guardian (and Observer), the New York Times and Spiegel.

Will they trial the NYT editors and journalists for treason?...