US govt wins right to snaffle Edward Snowden's $5m+ book royalties, speech fees – and all future related earnings
(2020/10/02)
- Reference: 1601610968
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/10/02/us_govt_snowden_court_royalties_win/
- Source link:
The US government's Department of Justice has won its multi-million-dollar claim to Edward Snowden's Permanent Record book royalties as well as any future related earnings.
A federal district court in eastern Virginia this week [1]ruled that Uncle Sam was entitled to the proceeds of Snowden's bestseller, an estimated $5.2m, and "any further monies, royalties, or other financial advantages derived by Snowden from Permanent Record." It can also grab Snowden's appearance fees from 56 speeches, thought to exceed $1m.
The court came to this conclusion after deciding Snowden broke his non-disclosure agreements with the NSA and CIA. It noted the [2]super-leaker did not offer up his book for a review by official censors nor did he clear speeches on intelligence matters with the US government as required by his employment contract from the time he worked for Uncle Sam.
"The United States’ lawsuit did not seek to stop or restrict the publication or distribution of Permanent Record," the Dept of Justice's spokespeople said on Thursday of the decision.
Ed Snowden has raked in $1m+ from speeches – and Uncle Sam wants its cut, specifically, absolutely all of it [3]READ MORE
"Rather, under well-established Supreme Court precedent, Snepp v. United States, the government sought to recover all proceeds earned by Snowden because of his failure to submit his publication for pre-publication review in violation of his alleged contractual and fiduciary obligations."
That the US government would crack down on Snowden is hardly unexpected. Officials [4]filed suit in September 2019 to claim a cut of Snowden's public persona on the grounds he broke his agreement with the No Such Agency by going public.
"Edward Snowden violated his legal obligations to the United States, and therefore, his unlawful financial gains must be relinquished to the government," said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.
"As this case demonstrates, the Department of Justice will not overlook the wrongful actions of those who seek to betray the trust reposed in them and to personally profit from their access to classified national security information."
A spokesperson for Snowden could not be reached for comment on the judgment. ®
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[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-obtains-final-judgement-and-permanent-injunction-against-edward-snowden
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2014/06/05/how_the_interenet_was_broken/?
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/18/snowden_us_government_fees/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/17/us_govt_sues_snowden/
[5] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
A federal district court in eastern Virginia this week [1]ruled that Uncle Sam was entitled to the proceeds of Snowden's bestseller, an estimated $5.2m, and "any further monies, royalties, or other financial advantages derived by Snowden from Permanent Record." It can also grab Snowden's appearance fees from 56 speeches, thought to exceed $1m.
The court came to this conclusion after deciding Snowden broke his non-disclosure agreements with the NSA and CIA. It noted the [2]super-leaker did not offer up his book for a review by official censors nor did he clear speeches on intelligence matters with the US government as required by his employment contract from the time he worked for Uncle Sam.
"The United States’ lawsuit did not seek to stop or restrict the publication or distribution of Permanent Record," the Dept of Justice's spokespeople said on Thursday of the decision.
Ed Snowden has raked in $1m+ from speeches – and Uncle Sam wants its cut, specifically, absolutely all of it [3]READ MORE
"Rather, under well-established Supreme Court precedent, Snepp v. United States, the government sought to recover all proceeds earned by Snowden because of his failure to submit his publication for pre-publication review in violation of his alleged contractual and fiduciary obligations."
That the US government would crack down on Snowden is hardly unexpected. Officials [4]filed suit in September 2019 to claim a cut of Snowden's public persona on the grounds he broke his agreement with the No Such Agency by going public.
"Edward Snowden violated his legal obligations to the United States, and therefore, his unlawful financial gains must be relinquished to the government," said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.
"As this case demonstrates, the Department of Justice will not overlook the wrongful actions of those who seek to betray the trust reposed in them and to personally profit from their access to classified national security information."
A spokesperson for Snowden could not be reached for comment on the judgment. ®
Get our [5]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-obtains-final-judgement-and-permanent-injunction-against-edward-snowden
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2014/06/05/how_the_interenet_was_broken/?
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/18/snowden_us_government_fees/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/17/us_govt_sues_snowden/
[5] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
And how exactly
Neil Barnes
Does the US court manage to extend its jurisdiction outwith the US? If Snowden isn't in the states, and isn't going back to the states, and doesn't deal with a stateside publisher, how does the court even know what he's earning, let alone grab the cash?
Let it be noted that I am neither approving nor condoning Snowden's actions, but genuinely interested in the legalities here. After all, if the USA can extend its jurisdiction worldwide, then surely so can Germany, or Chad, or Brazil, or China, or Nigeria, or anywhere else I don't happen to be at present.
I suspect that there are treaties which allow some criminal cases to be pursued outside the borders of the USA, but (a) the ones I know of seem rather one-sided and (b) with *everybody*?
Are you going to deny it, and attend and pretend it is not so?
the Department of Justice will not overlook the wrongful actions of those who seek to betray the trust reposed in them and to personally profit from their access to classified national security information."
:-) Oh please, you cannot be serious. You're having a laugh .... pumping and dumping that right rotten porky pie [lie]. The System is full to overflowing with insider trading dealers and dodgy crooked customers profiting from privileged information on an extremely regular daily basis. 'Tis an inherent human weakness programmed into the System for constant abuse and misuse.
Open your eyes, Department of Justice, and stop looking the other way most all of the time. You're fooling nobody nowadays with all of that nonsense.