Ellsberg calls Snowden a 'hero' as he joins Freedom of the Press foundation
US National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden - now in asylum in Russia - is joining the board of a nonprofit organization co-founded by Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. Ellsberg himself called Snowden "a hero."
Snowden: Guardian person of the year
The announcement by the group, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, is part of a public relations tug of war between Snowden’s critics, who portray him as a criminal and a traitor, and his supporters, who say he is a whistle-blower in the tradition of Ellsberg, said the New York Times.
The foundation board already includes two journalists Snowden gave N.S.A. documents to, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, says the NYT.
The organization consulted with lawyers about adding Snowden to its board in case it jeopardised its nonprofit tax status .
It is trying to emphasize parallels between Snowden and Ellsberg, said the Times.
In a Christmas message, Snowden said“Privacy matters, privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be.”
In 1971, the Nixon administration charged Ellsberg with violating the Espionage Act because he gave the Pentagon Papers, a classified history of decision-making about the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers. A court eventually threw out the case for government misconduct. Snowden has been charged under that same law.
“He is no more of a traitor than I am, and I am not a traitor,” Ellsberg said in an interview. He said he was proud that Snowden would serve alongside him on the group’s board. Ellsberg said Snowden was a hero who “has done more for our Constitution in terms of the Fourth and First Amendment” than anyone else he knew.
In a statement provided by the foundation, Snowden said he was honored to serve the cause of a free press “alongside extraordinary Americans like Daniel Ellsberg.”
Because Mr. Snowden is living in Russia, where he was granted temporary asylum, he will participate in board meetings by a remote link, according to the group’s director, Trevor Timm.