House Speaker John Boehner sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos this morning for an interview to discuss the NSA leak that has had American’s heads spinning. In the video below, Boehner calls the leaker a “traitor” for revealing classified information, which was put in place to “help keep Americans safe, and give us tools to fight the terrorist threat that we face.”
Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old contractor with the National Security Agency, has confirmed he was behind the details released to several media outlets regarding the government receiving phone records from Verizon customers.
VIDEO: Is NSA Leaker Edward Snowden A Traitor?
“The disclosure of this information puts Americans at risk. It shows our adversaries what our capabilities are. And it’s a giant violation of the law.”
In an attempt to ease the minds of the public last week, President Obama outlined the “appropriate safeguards in place to make sure that there’s no snooping, if you will, on Americans here at home,” however many people still have questions and concerns.
Boehner backed up the president’s statement today, saying that there is “heavy oversight of this program by the House Intelligence Committee on a bipartisan basis and the Senate Intelligence Committee,” which is why he feels “comfortable that we can operate this program and protect the privacy rights of our citizens.”
Do you think Edward Snowden is a traitor or does the public have a right to know?
