The Man Has His Bases Covered

"The NSA at this point not only knows I raised complaints, but that there is evidence that I made my concerns known to the NSA's lawyers, because I did some of it through e-mail. I directly challenge the NSA to deny that I contacted NSA oversight and compliance bodies directly via e-mail and that I specifically expressed concerns about their suspect interpretation of the law, and I welcome members of Congress to request a written answer [from the NSA] to this question," Snowden told Vanity Fair in a feature that's scheduled for publication later this week.

The challenge came in response to a claim by NSA Deputy Director Rick Ledgett, who led the agency's investigation of Snowden and who Vanity Fair says told the magazine that Snowden made no formal complaints and that no one at the NSA has reported Snowden mentioning his concerns to them

[...]

Beyond that, Snowden said he anticipated from the get-go that he'd be accused of being a spy. That's why, he said, he used his personal credit card to check into the Hong Kong hotel where he stayed immediately after fleeing with the documents. As Vanity Fair puts it, he did this so the "government could immediately verify he was entirely self-financed, was independent, and had, over time, withdrawn enough financial resources to survive on his own without assistance."

"My hope was that avoiding ambiguity would prevent spy accusations and create more room for reasonable debate," Snowden told the magazine. "Unfortunately, a few of the less responsible members of Congress embraced the spy charges for political reasons, as they still do to this day. But I don't think it was a bad idea, because even if they won't say it in public, intelligence-community officials are regularly confirming to journalists off the record that they know with a certainty that I am not an agent of any foreign government."

  CNET

So we need to ask ourselves why they won't admit it publicly. Dog whistle much?