After approving a 36-page document that found Edward Snowden to be a "disgruntled employee" and not a whistleblower, members of the House Intelligence Committee signed a letter to President Barack Obama Thursday urging him not to pardon the former National Security Agency contractor.
The letter states Snowden, who breached government surveillance programs after he leaked stolen records about the agency in 2013, "perpetrated the largest and most damaging public disclosure of classified information in our nation's history," The Wall Street Journal reports.
The release of the report coincides with the release of the movie "Snowden", directed by Oliver Stone, which portrays the former intelligence contractor as a whistleblower and hero.
Snowden, who is believed to be living in Russia, on Friday told The New York Times that his disclosures had improved privacy for individuals in the United States. He also stated that "being patriotic doesn't mean simply agreeing with your government."
Snowden was in Hong Kong when he first released batches of the stolen documents. Russia provided him asylum after his U.S. passport was annulled and he was left stranded at a Moscow airport. Snowden's disclosures bring to light a number of secret surveillance programs, which includes the government's practice of accessing telephone records of millions of Americans.
Snowden also criticized the report on Twitter:
The committee hasn't released the entire 36-page document as its information is classified, according to CBS News.
The committee, instead, released a brief three-page unclassified executive summary of its two-year investigation into the Snowden case. The document states Snowden handed over secrets that protect American troops overseas and details that provide vital defences against terrorists and nation-states."
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