When you first enter on duty at the CIA, they take you in a dark room. It’s a very solemn ceremony. You raise your hand and say, you know, "I," — state your name, whatever — "do solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." They talk about the oath of secrecy. There is no oath of secrecy. There is a Standard Form 312, classified nondisclosure agreement... that you sign, which is what they’re actually referring to, but it's not an oath.... you do take this oath of service, as they describe it... What happens when you have conflicting obligations? On one hand, you’re supposed to keep these secrets of government... The fact that the government is breaking the law is itself a secret. But when the government's lawbreaking is a violation of the Constitution that you entered into duty to uphold, what then do you do? ...I talked to my colleagues. I talked to my bosses.... Many of them agreed that it was wrong, but they said, "You know, it’s not my job to fix it. It’s not your job, either." ...Everybody knew the government was going to be extremely unhappy... But, for me, I felt that I had an obligation to do this. And so I gathered information that I believed was evidence of unlawful or unconstitutional activities.

Edward Snowden Carolinian

All Edward Snowden quotations