U.S. Lawmakers Are Now Claiming That Edward Snowden's NSA Leaks Will Cost Billions To Offset

Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Snowden Keeps Outwitting U.S. Spies -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

A new assessment of the damage caused by Edward Snowden’s breach of classified U.S. intelligence networks on first glance looks catastrophic. But first impressions can be deceiving.

Sometimes, the three hardest words to say in the English language are: “I don’t know.” For the U.S. intelligence community, those words could be very useful when it comes to Edward Snowden, the NSA-contractor-turned-leaker. Because when it comes to Snowden, the spooks know precious little—despite the over-sized claims made in Congress, allegedly on the spies’ behalf.

Last month, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) completed a classified assessment of the damage caused by Snowden’s breach and began briefing the findings to Congress. The report is now driving a new round of claims by senior U.S. officials and members of Congress about what has been called the worst leak in U.S. history.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said a week ago that Snowden’s activities have placed the lives of intelligence officers and assets at risk. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said if one were to stack the documents stolen by Snowden it would be three miles high. On Wednesday, Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Texas Republican who is next in line to be the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the damage done by Snowden “will certainly cost billions to repair.”

Read more ....

Update #1: Lawmaker Says Snowden Leaks Will Cost Country 'Billions To Repair' -- NPR
Update #2: Lawmakers ‘Disturbed and Angered’ After Classified Briefing Reveals Extent of Snowden Defense Leaks -- PJ Media

My Comment: These lawmakers and officials are making all of these claims .... but giving zero (if any) evidence to back it up. Should we trust them .... after lying to us consistently since the start of this scandal I would say not.