SurveillanceRep. Rogers: Edward Snowden helped by Russia, backs Russian expansionism

Representative Mike Rogers (R-Michigan), chairman of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, on Sunday repeated his claim that Edward Snowden had been helped by Russia.

The Guardian reports that when Rogers was asked on NBC’s Meet the Press whether he had been irresponsible in making such a charge without evidence, hegers said: “First of all, I see all the evidence and intelligence, from everything in the activities leading up to this event to very suspicious activity during the event. When you talk to the folks leading the investigation they cannot rule it out.

“No counter-terrorism official in the United States does not believe that Mr. Snowden … is not under the influence of Russian intelligence services. We believe he is, I certainly believe he is today.

“For the investigators, they need to figure out when did that influence start. Was he interested in co-operating earlier than what the timeline would suggest?”

Rogers also sought to link Snowden’s actions to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and concerns over the massing of Russian troops on Ukraine’s eastern border.

He said: “He [Snowden] is under the influence of Russian intelligence officials today [and] he is actually supporting, in an odd way, the brazen brutality and expansionism of Russia. He needs to understand that and I think Americans need to understand that in its proper context.”