Thanks for the link above. This is 2.5 hours so I'm not really sure I can do all this. Just some running notes:
- 'Of course he's not taking money from the Russians'.... er except his home, his security, getting secreted away from extradition, and whatever other entertainment the FSB provides, and they pretty much govern his whole life. Rogan also never asks him if he was debriefed by FSB after coming over about his work or about how he got to Russia.
- He does talk about Navalny which is good.
- He's right about the use of contractors.
- His points about proportionality is of course fair and correct.
- The point he doesn't make is about the inception of the program.
It started under Bush Sr., but yeah Addington expanded the program, I buy that.
- He says right up front that Congress - via the Gang of 8, and also other key committee leadership - was informed. The thing about Brennan and Clapper lying to Congress.... Congress was informed via the proper process. He says right there that even Wyden wouldn't admit the existence of the program.
- He gave raw data to 3 newspapers, per him. - Ok that's very Pentagon Papers.
- It's interesting to me that he tries to distinguish himself from Manning, ie 'no one was hurt'.
- I don't get the criticism of the IC evaccing on the 9/11/01 attacks. It's odd, everyone in DC federal buildings was being evacuated. Tons of secretaries and support staff had lives and families. Weird thing to focus on. - In general he does a lot of discussing of 9/11/01, which is.... ok, whatever. My sense is he had a sort of obsessive resentment of his job and bosses.
- Everything he says about restrictions on data harvesting by the Fed government is true and correct. Those restrictions were put in place for a reason. He's absolutely right.
- It takes Rogan 45 minutes to rein him in.
- It's interesting that he says the NYT squelched the story in 2004.
- Everything he says about surveillance is fair and true. I think the problem is 1. he did not use the whistleblower process, 2. he seems to be making false assumptions about what might have happened to him if he had stood trial in the US (this idea he would not be allowed to discuss motive is pure poppycock), and 3. the problem was Wikileaks and the help that WL gave him and who was helping WL.
- Lol amazingly I have gone through all of this and if I am not mistaken Wikileaks isn't mentioned once? How does this happen? Is his book like that?