Edward Snowden’s Detractors in Congress Call Him a ‘Thief,’ Wonder Who Helped Him

It’s safe to say that Rep. Mike Rogers doesn’t think Edward Snowden’s leaks of U.S. government information were motivated by a sense of patriotism. In fact, the House Intelligence Committee chairman made statements Sunday hinting at treason and suggesting Snowden might not have acted alone.

In fact, Rogers said on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” he suspects that Snowden, whom he called a “thief,” might have had some help from Russia, as The Washington Post relayed later that day:

“I believe there’s a reason he ended up in the hands, the loving arms, of an FSB agent in Moscow,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, (R-Mich.), in a reference to Russian president Vladi­mir Putin, a former head of the Russian security service. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”

He said that some the things Snowden did were “beyond his technical capabilities” and that it appeared that “he had some help and he stole things that had nothing to do with privacy.” He did not elaborate on when he believes Russian officials and Snowden were first in contact.

Another Republican congressman, Rep. Mike McCaul, also suggested that Snowden had been “cultivated by a foreign power,” the Post reported.

–Posted by Kasia Anderson