3 Key Takeaways From Edward Snowden's Q&A With The New York Times

Screenshot / The GuardianFormer NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Edward Snowden took questions from New York Times reporter Peter Maass recently, which the Times published yesterday. The interview occurred as part of Maass’ profile of Laura Poitras, the documentary filmmaker who, along with the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald, broke the story about Snowden and the information he revealed about the tactics of the National Security Administration.

You can read the full interview here, but here are three key takeaways:

1. Snowden didn’t trust the New York Times.

“After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government,” he said. “The major outlets are still only beginning to recover from this cold period.”

2. Poitras and Greenwald thought Snowden would be older.

“I think they were annoyed that I was younger than they expected,” he said. “As soon as we were behind close doors, however, I think everyone was reassured by the obsessive attention to precaution and bona fides.”

3. Glenn Greenwald has an insane work ethic.

“I was particularly impressed by Glenn’s ability to operate without sleep for days at a time,” Snowden said.