Infamous, self-described government whistle-blower Edward Snowden came under more fire from the United States government this week when a federal judge ordered him to relinquish the profits from his tell-all memoir Permanent Record. The charge comes as a result of Snowden failing to receive government approval for his manuscript before publishing and is separate from his 2013 criminal charges.
The United States is suing Snowden for $5.2 million worth of book royalties, as well as any money made from promotional tours and speeches. Snowden may also not be eligible to receive royalties from future foreign adaptations of the memoir.
U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady said the charges come because Snowden “breached his contractual and fiduciary obligations to the CIA and the NSA by publishing Permanent Record and giving prepared remarks within the scope of his prepublication review obligations.” According to Bloomberg, Snowden’s legal team did not immediately comment on the charges. However, they are now arguing that the United States Government’s definition of “breach of contract” was overly broad and could be challenged in court.
Edward Snowden became a household name in 2013 when he released thousands of highly sensitive government documents to the public. The documents disclosed the inner security workings of the National Security Agency (NSA), as well as evidence that the United States was breaching national security and surveillance protocol by spying on citizens. He also revealed documents outlining government plans to spy on domestic private internet systems, as well as those of foreign countries. Snowden has incurred multiple felony charges as a result of these leaks, as well as had his American passport confiscated. While the government considers him a threat to national security, he has been praised by many Americans, garnering support for exposing the inner workings of secret and exploitative government activity. He currently lives in Russia in political asylum and has lived there since fleeing the United States back in 2013.
This is not the first time that the United States has attempted to seize memoir profits from a former government employee. According to Politico, Former National Security Advisor John Bolton also allegedly failed to get prior government approval before publishing his memoir. Bolton’s book, titled The Room Where It Happened, is a tell-all piece that allegedly contains pieces of sensitive government information. The United States government denied Bolton’s request for a dismissal of charges. Like Snowden, Bolton was charged for violating a non-disclosure agreement, and as reparations, the government is charging for the proceeds from his book.
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