Reporter Seeks Snowden’s Emails to NSA

WASHINGTON (CN) - An investigative journalist sued the National Security Agency for an email or emails that Edward Snowden claims he sent the NSA while he worked for the spy agency.

Jason Leopold, of Beverly Hills, sued the NSA in a federal FOIA complaint.

"Edward Snowden maintains that he sent multiple emails to the NSA, including the Office of General Counsel and the agency's Office of Compliance," the 4-page complaint states.

It continues: "In an interview with NBC Nightly News which aired on May 28, 2014, Snowden said, 'I actually did go through channels, and that is documented. ... The NSA has records, they have copies of emails right now to their Office of General Counsel, to their oversight and compliance folks, from me raising concerns about the NSA's interpretations of its legal authorities. ... The response more or less, in bureaucratic language, was, "You should stop asking questions."'" (Ellipses in complaint.)

"On May 29, 2014, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence posted a statement on its website which reads, in part, 'NSA has now explained that they have found one email inquiry by Edward Snowden to the Office of General Counsel asking for an explanation of some material that was in a training course he had just completed. The e-mail did not raise allegations or concerns about wrongdoing or abuse, but posed a legal question that the Office of General Counsel addressed.' An email between Snowden and the Office of General Counsel accompanied the statement."

Leopold says he asked the NSA on April 30 for copies of any emails Snowden sent the agency while he worked for it. He says he hasn't heard a thing. He wants to see the record.

He is represented by Jeffrey Light.

Leopold's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Time, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere.

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