Glenn Greenwald Justifies Snowden’s Fear He Will Be Killed: U.S. ‘Targeted’ Americans In The Past

by Noah Rothman

During a live chat on The Guardian’s website on Monday, NSA leaker Edward Snowden reassured readers that the secrets he has been steadily providing to that paper regarding America’s intelligence gathering practices would not end even if he was murdered. Appearing on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald clarified those comments and said that Snowden fears for his life because the U.S. has previously executed strikes on Americans abroad, like that which killed American-born Al Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki. Greenwald noted that he has seen no indication that the American government would execute a similar operation to neutralize Snowden.

“All I can say right now is the US Government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me,” Snowden said on Monday.

“To a lot of people, that murder suggestion seems like a rather outrageous charge,” Tapper began. “Is there any evidence that Snowden’s life is in any danger?”

Greenwald said that some journalists’ accounts of the Snowden leaks scandal, the impression many get is that America would turn to extraordinary methods to eliminate the threat posed by Snowden if he decided to turn over to a foreign government the information at his disposal.

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http://www.mediaite.com/tv/glenn-greenwald-justifies-snowdens-fear-he-will-be-killed-u-s-targeted-americans-in-the-past/