In 2014, Edward Snowden publicly challenged the NSA to deny he had emailed agency lawyers raising concerns about surveillance programs.
The NSA responded with silence, then a carefully orchestrated media campaign, and finally-hundreds of heavily redacted documents released under FOIA.
Those documents are now public. And they say a lot-by showing how little the NSA was willing to say.
The file, “CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS REGARDING E-MAIL TO AGENCY OFFICIALS ABOUT NSA PROGRAMS,” includes internal correspondence, journalist FOIA requests, official denials, and one awkwardly worded Snowden email that asks a procedural question-but never directly challenges any program.
The goal was to disprove the whistleblower. The result is a paper trail that raises more questions than it closes.
🔍 The “Only” Email: Legalese, Not Alarm Bells
The only publicly released email from Snowden to the NSA’s Office of General Counsel is dated April 2013.
In it, he questions the legal hierarchy between executive orders and statutory law-a dry, procedural question about the agency’s internal training course.
“My understanding is that EOs may be superseded by federal statute, but EOs may not override statute. Am I incorrect in this?”
- Edward Snowden, April 5, 2013
The NSA’s reply is equally bland: “You are correct,” they say. “Call us if you’d like to discuss further.”
No discussion followed.
🗃️ FOIA Blitzkrieg: Journalists Want Answers, NSA Says “We Found Nothing”
In the months following Snowden’s revelations, major media outlets-NBC, BuzzFeed, USA Today, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post-filed FOIA requests for any and all emails sent by Snowden to the NSA’s legal offices.
The response? A maze of delay letters, rejections, and vague denials. Many journalists were told:
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The email account was no longer active
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There were no responsive documents
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Even if there were documents, they would be classified or withheld under FOIA exemptions
Yet in each rejection, a pattern emerged: the NSA never categorically denied Snowden sent other emails-they simply claimed none “challenged programs” or “raised concerns.”
⚖️ The Legal Loophole: “No Complaints Found” ≠ “No Complaints Made”
NSA spokespeople and legal counsel carefully worded their denials:
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Snowden made no complaints to senior officials
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No emails were found that “raised concerns” about surveillance
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The one email found did not “allege wrongdoing”
This isn’t the same as saying no complaints were made. It’s saying none matched the narrowest possible definition of “complaint.”
“There are no records indicating Mr. Snowden contacted agency officials to raise concerns about NSA programs.”
- NSA FOIA Office, June 2014
Which raises a question: what would count as a “concern”? If an email to legal counsel asks if executive orders are being misinterpreted-isn’t that concern by implication?
🚪 Classification Wall: The Rest Is Redacted
In several responses, the NSA acknowledged that more documents existed-but they were:
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Classified under EO 13526
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Withheld under FOIA exemptions for law enforcement, privacy, and national security
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Exempt from release under Public Law 86-36
Some responses reference “dozens” of communications, others say they are properly withheld due to “grave national security risks.” In other words: the documents might exist-but the public can’t see them.
🕳️ The Empty Inbox Is Full
What began as a denial of one email has become a meticulous exercise in controlled ambiguity.
The NSA released one email to suggest transparency. They ignored the possibility of others. And they leaned on exemption codes, procedural vagueness, and bureaucratic silence to lock the rest behind classified walls.
What we now know is this:
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Snowden did contact NSA lawyers.
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The NSA responded.
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They claim it wasn’t a complaint.
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And they claim there’s nothing else the public is allowed to see.
Sometimes, the absence of a smoking gun is the smoke.
