Snowden takes issue with Tucker Carlson claiming intelligence agencies have misused their powers 'for the first time'

RT
Wed, 07 Feb 2018 20:14 UTC

© Brendan McDermid / Reuters

Whistleblower Edward Snowden called out Fox News host Tucker Carlson for claiming Americans have grounds to believe intelligence agencies have misused their powers "for the first time."

Carlson tweeted Tuesday: "For the first time in generations Americans have reason to believe that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies gravely misuse the powers we have given them."

While the US government's inclination to spy on its citizens may have come as a surprise to Carlson, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden - who leaked documents showing the agency's mass surveillance of Americans in 2013 - begged to differ.

Tucker's 'revelation' was ignited by a declassified intelligence memo, released Friday which claims the FBI and DOJ secured a warrant to spy on Trump adviser Carter Page using the 'Steele dossier' paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign. The dossier played a key part in the order obtained by the FBI from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The DOJ and FBI objected to the release.

Comment: Snowden is right to point out that what the public is finding out is nothing new:

• Surveillance State: How the NSA breaks the law - and lies about it
• Warrantless spying: NSA's secret social network collects all your online data
• A list of known NSA spying techniques
• Ex-NSA analyst describes the depths of NSA surveillance as "Stasi on steroids"
• NSA whistleblower: 'Everyone in U.S. under virtual surveillance'
• NSA whistleblowers Adrienne Kinne and Brian Faulk: Our job was to spy on US citizens and soldiers