Snowden calls out Feinstein's spying hypocrisy

The senator slammed CIA spying on Congress, but has been a champion of NSA mass surveillance

Published March 11, 2014 5:11PM (EDT)

Edward Snowden    (AP)
Edward Snowden (AP)

On the same day that Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein slammed the CIA for spying on a Congressional investigation, whistle-blower Edward Snowden spoke out publicly again to slam the senator's hypocrisy.

Feinstein has been a vocal defender of the NSA's mass surveillance practices, leading the charge in Congress when it comes to national security fear-mongering to support dragnet spy programs. Feinstein Tuesday condemned as unconstitutional the CIA having spied on computers dedicated to a Senate investigation into the agency's torture practices. Not only did Feinstein sidestep the crucial point that the Senate's torture report was being kept from public view and scrutiny, her criticism of spying on senators sat ill with her support of spying on citizens.

As Snowden commented in a statement to NBC: "It's clear the CIA was trying to play 'keep away' with documents relevant to an investigation by their overseers in Congress, and that's a serious constitutional concern. But it's equally if not more concerning that we're seeing another 'Merkel Effect,' where an elected official does not care at all that the rights of millions of ordinary citizens are violated by our spies, but suddenly it's a scandal when a politician finds out the same thing happens to them."


By Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com.

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Cia Dianne Feinstein Edward Snowden Nsa Senate Intelligence Committee Spying Surveillance