What Is Edward Snowden Up To? Posts Tweet: ‘It’s Time’
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor-turned-whistleblower, posted a cryptic tweet on Wednesday, requesting that former colleagues reconnect with him.
Snowden tweeted “It’s time” to his more than 2 million followers.
Did you work with me? Have we talked since 2013? Please recontact me securely, or talk to @bartongellman. It’s time. https://t.co/AKmgF5AIDJ
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 3, 2016
Snowden was referring to journalist and author Barton Gellman, who said that he is seeking information on Snowden’s work in the intelligence community so he can “tell it truthfully.”
The mysterious tweet follows a back-and-forth exchange of barbs that Snowden had with WikiLeaks.
Wikileaks is a former ally to Snowden, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The organization supported Snowden when he first sought asylum in Russia after the NSA scandal.
@KurtRobson101 Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks exchanged Twitter jabs…https://t.co/1gaayqoR2t via businessinsider pic.twitter.com/p1obH2UpT7
— Primal (@Primal) July 29, 2016
But last week, Mr. Snowden tweeted criticism of Wikileaks. While admitting that the group has done some good, its “hostility to even modest curation is a mistake.”
He was referring to WikiLeaks practice of dumping information without editing sensitive personal data.
In turn, Wikileaks lashed out, implying that Snowden was trying to win the favor of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton so that he could be admitted back into the U.S., according to Business Insider.
“Opportunism won’t earn you a pardon from Clinton.”
Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013. He went into exile after he leaked intelligence information about the National Security Agency’s domestic spying apparatus, according to Sputnik News.
Snowden has previously stated that his one condition for returning to the U.S. would be the guarantee of a fair trial, as well as the ability to argue his case before a jury against the charges he faces under the Espionage Act.
Though Snowden is confined to Moscow, he gets around that inconvenience by using a robot.
Snowden uses a BeamPro, a flat-screen monitor attached to a pair of legs, with a swiveling camera. The machine’s nickname is “Snowbot.”
The avatar resides at the Manhattan offices of the ACLU, where it enables Snowden to take meetings and travel to speaking engagements.
Hollywood director Oliver Stone has released a trailer for his upcoming biopic about Snowden.
Stone just released a humorous PSA about cell phone surveillance.
“Think I’m being dramatic?”
Page Six reported that Oliver Stone has been dancing teaser screenings of Snowden to select VIPs, leading up to the film’s official world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
The film, a political thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is scheduled to screen on August 21 in East Hampton.
But on the night prior, Stone will screen the film for about 16 guests at the home of art dealer Larry Gagosian.
Stone also showed the film during July’s Comic-Con, at an invite-only event where Snowden was beamed in via video for a Q&A.
Gordon-Levitt, who was able to meet Snowden during research for the role, told the Guardian about his impression.
“I left knowing without a doubt that what [Snowden] did, he did because he believed it was the right thing to do, that he believed it would help the country he loves. Now, as he would say, it’s not for him to say whether it was right or wrong. That’s really for people to decide on their own, and I would encourage anybody to decide that on their own. I don’t want to be the actor guy who’s like, ‘You should listen to me! What he did was right!’ I don’t think that’s my place. Even though that is what I believe – that what he did was right.”
The film is slated for release in August.
[Photo by Marco Garcia, File/AP]
