NSA Spies 'Bugged European Politicians' Offices in America': Fugitive Whistleblower Ed Snowden Reveals Secret Operation- Microphones were put in building and computers compromised as spooks targeted EU in Washington and UN offices in New York
- Head of European Parliament demands 'clarification' from U.S. and warns of rift if report is true
- Der Spiegel says 'strictly confidential' document was leaked by runaway analyst Edward Snowden
By Daily Mail UK, 30 June 2013
Whistleblower: Edward Snowden leaked a document which allegedly showed U.S. spooks had spied on the EU in America
A document leaked by fugitive ex-CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden claims the U.S. secretly bugged EU offices in America.
Spooks at the National Security Agency (NSA) nobbled EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the 27-member bloc's UN office in New York, according to
Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.
Microphones were installed in the building and and the computer network compromised, 'giving the agency access to emails and internal documents.'
The document, dated September 2010 and classified 'strictly confidential', has created a diplomatic rift between America and Europe.
Martin Schultz, head of the European Parliament, has demanded 'full clarification' from the U.S. and said that if the report was true, it would have a 'severe impact'.
He said it would be 'a huge scandal', and cause a 'big strain' on the relations between the EU and the U.S.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said U.S. spying was 'out of control, adding: 'The U.S. would do better to monitor its intelligence services instead of its allies.'
Targeted: The 27-bloc EU offices at the UN building in New York was spied on by the U.S. National Security Agency
The document allegedly referred to the EU as a 'target'. Details of European positions on trade and military matters would have been useful to those involved in negotiations between Washington and European governments, says the BBC's Stephen Evans.
Der Spiegel claims the document, was leaked by Snowden, a contracted analyst with the CIA who has since requested asylum in Ecuador after revealing the existence of the so-called PRISM surveillance programme.
The top-secret PRISM programme collects and analyses information from internet and phone users around the world, with access to data from Google, Yahoo! and other Internet firms.
U.S.officials say the information gathered is vital in the fight against global terrorism.
America has charged Snowden with;
Theft of government property
Unauthorised communication of national defence information
Wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Vice President Joe Biden called Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, asking him to reject an asylum request made by Snowden, it was revealed yesterday.
‘They did discuss Snowden, but I don't have additional details,’ Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama in Africa.
It's the highest-level conversation between the U.S. and Ecuador that has been publicly disclosed since Ecuador began considering the possibility of offering Snowden a sanctuary.
MORE from the Daily Mail UK/AP:
White House 'Doesn't Know' What Files NSA Leaker Edward Snowden has Accessed
- Obama adviser admits they 'don't know' which files Snowden has copied
- Further classified documents have been exposed on U.S. data collection
- NSA leaker Edward Snowden remains in the transit area of Moscow airport after leaving Hong Kong on Sunday
- U.S. demanded Russia extradites him immediately but Putin refused
The true extent of the security threat posed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is 'unknown', according to a top government aid, as it is revealed the White House is unsure what secret files he possesses.
The revelation came as a new batch of highly classified documents was made public across the internet yesterday, revealing how the U.S. government has collected online data in bulk.
Support: Snowden supporters hold posters outside Sheremetyevo, airport in Moscow that read: 'Edward! Russia is your second Motherland!' and, 'Russia is for Snowden!'
Russian and foreign journalists continued to monitor the Sheremetyevo international airport, where Snowden is believed to remain at the transit zone. This poster reads: 'We will not give Snowden to world gendarme!'
Speaking in Dakar, Senegal, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Obama, said:
'Look, I don't know with certainty what Mr Snowden has. That's something we're actively seeking to determine.'
Quoted in an ABC news article, Mr Rhodes said Snowden had already compromised 'very classified programs' by leaking secret files to three newspapers and by taking files out of the country.
Rhodes said it was still believed that Snowden was carrying the classified files on his person.
The government adviser said there were 'strict protocols' for how to handle classified information.
'It doesn't involve getting on a plane and going to Hong Kong and then getting on a plane and going to Russia,' he said.
Officials in the U.S. are actively trying to determine which documents have been accessed by the former contract worker, carrying out forensic audits of computers and systems Snowden had used.
But there are fears the computer specialist may have hidden his tracks so well at the National Security Agency that it will be impossible to identify exactly what was copied.
The intelligence community is also in the process of assessing the potential damage to national security relating to leaked information so far.
Mr Snowden was expected to fly to Cuba on Monday, having booked a ticket from Moscow, but he did not board the plane. It is believed he may be having difficulties with his documents since the U.S. revoked his passport.
Meanwhile, supporters of Snowden's campaign have gathered outside Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, holding up posters which say: 'Russia is for Snowden!', 'We will not give Snowden to world gendarme!' and 'Snowden we are with you!'
Despite the U.S. urging Russia to extradite him immediately, President Vladimir Putin has refused, saying there is no extradition treaty with the U.S., and Snowden has not committed any crimes in his country.
Until he leaves the airport, he must remain in the transit area, which serves both connecting passengers traveling via Moscow to onward destinations and passengers departing from Moscow who have passed border and security checks.
For such a long stay, he must have secured a transit visa from a consulate operating in the zone.
Exiting the area would either require boarding a plane or passing through border control. Both require a valid passport or other identification; the U.S. has revoked Snowden's passport.
Speaking dismissively of the situation, President Obama said that he had not personally called Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping to request they extradite Snowden, adding:
'I shouldn't have to.'
He said that the documents leaked by Snowden have had their effect but that the government has responded that the surveillance programs are conducted legally and with proper oversight.
He added that Snowden's story has the makings of a big-screen spy film or a 'made-for-TV movie'.
US Mistakes on Extradition Papers to Hong Kong =WRONG NAME
Mix up: Hong Kong officials have said they were unable to help the U.S. with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden as extradition papers listed his middle name as 'James' rather than 'Joseph'
The comments come after it emerged that the U.S. embarrassingly failed to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong after using the wrong name on papers.
Provisional arrest warrant documents listed his middle name as James, whereas it is Joseph. In other papers, he was just called Edward J. Snowden, Hong Kong's Secretary of Justice Rimsky Yuen said.
When Hong Kong asked the U.S. for clarification last Friday, they failed to respond in time for officials to stop Snowden's flight to Russia on Sunday.
Quote:
'Until the minute of Snowden's departure, the U.S. government hadn't yet replied to our requests for clarification,' Yuen told the Wall Street Journal.
'Hong Kong's government had no legal basis to block his departure,because of errors by the US.'
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