Snowden Sued by U.S. Over Classified Information in His Book

(Bloomberg) -- Edward Snowden’s earnings from his new book should be handed over to the U.S. government because the tell-all memoir illegally discloses classified information in violation of his non-disclosure agreements, the Justice Department said in a civil lawsuit.

Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency employee and National Security Agency contractor who exposed U.S. secrets in 2013, was sued on Tuesday for allegedly failing to submit his book, Permanent Record, to the agencies for pre-publication review as required under his contracts.

The government also accuses Snowden of violating the agreements with the CIA and NSA by giving public speeches on intelligence-related matters. G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, where the suit was filed, said in a statement that the government is trying to recover profit from the book rather than block publication.

“Intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide personal profit,” Terwilliger said. “This law‘suit will ensure that Edward Snowden receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him.”

Ben Wizner, a director at the American Civil Liberties Union and attorney for Snowden, said the book doesn’t contain any government secrets that haven’t already been published by various news organizations.

“Had Mr. Snowden believed that the government would review his book in good faith, he would have submitted it for review,” Wizner said in a statement. “But the government continues to insist that facts that are known and discussed throughout the world are still somehow classified.

Wizner said Snowden wrote the book to “continue a global conversation about mass surveillance and free societies” that Snowden helped inspire.

Snowden’s book publisher didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. The civil lawsuit is separate from the criminal case brought against Snowden for allegedly disclosing classified information about domestic intelligence-gathering practices.

Snowden, who is living in or near Moscow, has forcefully defended his decision to reveal top-secret NSA surveillance programs, including hacking of private Internet systems and widespread spying on allies and adversaries of the U.S.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Steve Stroth

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