Snowden left hints for NSA

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden left hints on NSA servers to indicate which documents he had taken. He also wanted to let it be known that he was not a spy, but a whistleblower.

That is what Snowden, who has been living in Russia for more than a year, says in an interview with the American technology magazine Wired. Snowden wanted to indicate which classified files he had taken and which had not; the stash of classified documents he could have accessed but did not take with him would be great.

The NSA has always indicated that it cannot estimate exactly how many documents Snowden has taken and that it could even be 1.7 million. That indicates that the NSA has not picked up on its hints or that the Secret Service is exaggerating the leak, Snowden told Wired.

The hints Snowden left on Secret Service servers would explicitly state what documents he had taken and clarify his motives so that the NSA wouldn’t think he’s a spy. Instead, he said he wanted to make it clear that he is a whistleblower.

Snowden declined to say how many documents he actually took. The NSA declined to comment on Snowden’s allegations. If Snowden “wants to enter into a discussion about his activities, he must return to the United States to face the charges against him,” the secret service said.