Snowden no hero, says House intel committee

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked more than 1 million classified intelligence documents more than three years ago, is not a hero but a traitor who isn't what he's making himself out to be, according to a report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Snowden's narrative -- that he stole the massive trove of U.S. intelligence data as a principled whistleblower who wanted to protect Americans' privacy rights -- does not square with the two-year inquiry that resulted in the report, lawmakers said.

The 36-page report is classified, but the committee released an unclassified version on Sept. 15. The release comes as the controversial figure sees another turn in the public spotlight, with the release of the feature-length "Snowden" film based on his actions and a movement by privacy groups to gain him a presidential pardon.

According to the committee, Snowden was "a disgruntled employee who had frequent conflicts with his managers and was reprimanded just two weeks before he began illegally downloading classified documents."

Far from being an ethical whistleblower, according to the report, Snowden bypassed the formal procedures that protect federal workers who report government and agency wrongdoing.

The study also contends that Snowden was far from an intelligence whiz, citing "his failure to pass NSA's basic annual training on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

In the statement accompanying the report, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the committee's chairman, called Snowden a traitor who put lives at risk and justified his actions with "exaggerations and outright fabrications."

The study was released as the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and other organizations are urging President Barack Obama to pardon Snowden before Obama leaves office in 2017. The "Snowden" movie, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, premiered in U.S. theaters on Sept. 16.

In a Sept. 14 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest nixed the idea of pardoning Snowden.

Earnest said White House officials do not consider Snowden to be a whistleblower because he did not raise concerns through the whistleblower process. Furthermore, "his conduct put American lives at risk" and endangered national security.

The Obama administration's policy is to have Snowden return to the U.S. to face federal espionage charges, Earnest said.