Edward Snowden, NSA leaker, credits Justice Department lawsuit with boosting book sales

Edward Snowden on Thursday credited the U.S. Department of Justice with boosting sales of the former intelligence contractor’s new book by suing over its release this week.

Mr. Snowden, who made waves in 2013 by leaking classified U.S. government material to the media, discussed his memoir and the federal lawsuit it spurred during an interview on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

“The nice thing about [getting sued] is the book was not getting that much attention, it was like 25 on the charts. And then the government said, ‘We don’t want you to read this book.’ They said, ‘God, sue Snowden as fast as you can, do anything you can, stop it, stop it, stop it.’ And now we’re number 1, basically everywhere,” Mr. Snowden told “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.

“So you could say the attorney general is the best hype man that I’ve ever had,” said Mr. Snowden.

Mr. Snowden’s memoir, “Permanent Record,” was released worldwide on Tuesday, more than six years after the former CIA employee and National Security Agency contractor admittedly leaked a trove of classified material to members of the media about the U.S. government’s surveillance operations.

The Justice Department sued Mr. Snowden when “Permanent Record” hit the shelves because he did not submit it for review prior to publication. Federal prosecutors allege Mr. Snowden violated non-disclosure agreements he signed years earlier and have argued that the government should reap any profits made by his memoir.

“Permanent Record” was the second best-selling book available on Amazon as of Friday morning, according to the online retailer.

The Justice Department announced criminal charges against Mr. Snowden, 36, shortly after he revealed himself as the source of the NSA leaks in June 2013. He was outside the U.S. when the charges were unsealed and has not returned to face prosecution. Mr. Snowden was interviewed by Mr. Noah while appearing remotely from Russia, where he has lived for the last six years.

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