Glenn Greenwald explains why Snowden doesn't control which documents get leaked and when

[Joe Hyperion]

Many of us have heard about Vladimir Putin asking Edward Snowden to stop leaking documents damaging to the USA. Glenn Greenwald explains a key fact that clarifies how much control Snowden has over the release of these documents:

“I think there’s a real misconception over whether he’ll continue to leak,” Greenwald said. “He turned over to us many thousands of documents weeks and weeks ago back in Hong Kong and we’ve been the ones deciding which stories get published and in which order. As far as I know he doesn’t have any intention of disclosing any more documents to us.” http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/17/greenwald-snowden-doesnt-want-to-be-put-in-a-cage-like-manning/

In short, the leaks will continue.

[GeorgeGist]

1. Greenwald sounds like a shyster.

[librechik]

13. anti semitic much?

you aren't invisible your know.

[carolinayellowdog]

2. In short, no

no more Snowden leaks; the stories from the original leak will continue

[Blue_Tires]

3. dumb question:

why not release them ALL and let the public decide?

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Wikileaks did the same thing which is smart

1.Information overload .... too much for the public to process

2. keeps the story alive vs dying with one print. There apears to be a lot of information.

3. The editors of The Guardian know this and also need to process the information without legal problems


4. Its a good thing.

[Blue_Tires]

6. I'd think it was just the opposite

And if not all at once, it could at least be more frequent, imo

1. The slower you leak, the more likely you are to lose public interest

2. If say, the gov't KNOWS you just plan to drip a little at a time, then they know there is still a lot of time to payoff/negotiate/persuade/intimidate/threaten/discredit Snowden (or his loved ones) before he gets around to releasing something really damaging...

3. If the guardian is so worried about potential legal hurdles, the stuff could just be posted online -- It's a given that sooner or later some really volatile info will come up that the guardian will want NO part of...

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. You assume the US population is not easily distracted

intelligent, informed, aware etc.

Each release makes for a public discussion all the way to congress , the president, the media, the internet, then each charge or revelation is addressed.


Your way doesn't work, good thing you are not the editor of a newspaper.

[Blue_Tires]

8. Funny you say that, because that is exactly where I worked in a past life

But I wasn't even talking as a 'news guy'; I was talking more from Snowden's perspective...He doesn't even "need" the guardian in all of this with wikileaks around...

My real concern is giving the NSA too much strategic "wiggle room", since they don't seem anywhere near as worried as I think they should be...

[Catherina]

9. The Editor of the UK Guardian pledged from the beginning to stand behind the leaks

I can't remember her name but she said nothing would stop her the typical some pressure started.

Also, Greenwald stated this week that he hasn't even been through all the documents he has yet so I assume the same applies for other journalists.

They will never lose the interest of many dedicated people but the more important thing is Congress finally woke up and these hearings may drag on for a long time. Leaking them more slowly also gives people like Clapper plenty of rope to lie and get caught since they have no idea what's coming next and how to parse their "least untruthful" responses.

If they had dumped everything last month, all you'd hear now is that it's old news and our official propagandists would have have gazillions of links to confuse the issues and tell everyone they're confused, that that's not what was said and point to totally unrelated programs to make their point. This way it stays nice and focused. That's only my opinion of course.

[KoKo]

10. Good Points...

[kentuck]

22. Very smart way to fight the establishment propaganda.

They understand how it works.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. You seem to think that posting online means there are no legal considerations

"If the guardian is so worried about potential legal hurdles, the stuff could just be posted online"

That's not how the internet works.

[Blue_Tires]

12. I meant given to a place like wikileaks; not posted at guardian.co.uk

that could be done, right?

[davidpdx]

5. So if the leaks are continuing will Putin still give Snowden asylum?

Can Snowden really claim he is no longer leaking documents? It sounds to me like the answer to both is yes.

[snooper2]

14. Dump all of them Green...Come on, where's the super secret "I listen to any call any time" button

You trying to milk this, or all you got is what we already know..

Oh, except for the 117K foreign targets of surveillance-



We are waiting!

[Ichingcarpenter]

15. I think this was discussed why your idea sucks

You could probably assimilate it but half of the population is stupider than you

[snooper2]

16. The stupid people already think the government is collecting their facebook updates

I want to see Green and Snowy release something that backs up what they say.

(Which I know they don't have, but I can still taunt them LOL) Green reads DU right!

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. Well al righty then

I might have more information to convince you.
Which I do

But that wouldn't be prudent.

Stupidity.... I guess I'm in that class according to you vs being ignorant.

Face book is compromised that's a fact.

[flamingdem]

19. There's a Right Wing scandal waiting to grab headlines

so Glenn's scandal needs to be wrapping up about now.

[FarCenter]

17. "any more documents to us" -- key words in Greewald's statement

Likely means that Greenwald would not be the conduit for further publication from the encrypted archives that Snowden is using as a deterrent against the US.

[flamingdem]

18. As in, Assange pushed him out of the loop

Jacob Appelbaum is a more likely source due to the technical aspect and his involvement in the origins of this drama

[FarCenter]

21. Yes, or someone like him.

IIRC, Greenwald didn't have PGP installed on his computer and had to be coached by Snowden.

So he's clearly incompetent for the next phase of publication, should it be triggered.