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Snowden NSA leak raises questions about intelligence contractors

David Brancaccio Jun 10, 2013
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Snowden NSA leak raises questions about intelligence contractors

David Brancaccio Jun 10, 2013
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Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former CIA employee who says he leaked information on the government’s widespread surveillance of electronic communications last week, is currently in Hong Kong awaiting his fate. Snowden says he released secret documents as a matter of principle.

In a video interview with The Guardian, the paper that broke the story, Snowden said he was not motivated by money.

“Anyone in the positions of access with the technical capabilities that I had could suck out secrets, pass them on the open market to Russia — they always have an open door,” he said.

It has been a tough weekend for the current employer of Snowden. Defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton hired him just this year. The company released a statement that it is “shocked” by the revelations.

Brett LoGiurato, political reporter for Business Insider, joins Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio to discuss the business fallout and what it means for private intelligence contractors.

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