Classified Pentagon Report: Snowden Stole Nearly 2 Million Documents

"The Pentagon’s findings confirm what we already knew. That Mr. Snowden was no whistleblower, but a spy and a traitor," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon said.

The Pentagon provided a classified brief to lawmakers today that outlined the extent of former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden's leaks, according to members of the House Intelligence Committee.

This June 9, 2013 file photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, File)

Reps. Mike Rogers of Michigan and C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger of Maryland, Republican Intel committee chair and Democratic ranking member, also had harsh words for the man charged with two acts of espionage.

"Snowden's actions are likely to have lethal consequences for our troops in the field ...(and have) hurt U.S. allies helping us with counter terrorism, cyber crime, human and narcotics trafficking, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," they said in a joint statement.

[sharequote align="center"]"Snowden's actions are likely to have lethal consequences for our troops in the field..."[/sharequote]

The classified report states Snowden endangered the lives of Americans on and off the battlefield when he downloaded and released more than 1.7 million intelligence files that included significant revelations about the amount of NSA surveillance, but also included details about ongoing military operations.

"A whistleblower intends to protect the safety and integrity of his co-workers. According to Department of Defense revelations, Mr. Snowden’s disclosures did precisely the opposite," said McKeon. "They put his fellow citizens, including troops deployed in harm’s way, at great risk. He put his personal politics and ambitions over the safety and well-being of his fellow citizens."

"It is my sincere hope that, when history sorts this out, he shares the same infamy and same facility as Aldrich Ames, John Anthony Walker, and Robert Hanssen," McKeon said.

Snowden is charged with two violations of the Espionage Act related to the unauthorized communication of classified information and is accused of theft of government property.

The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed "to punish acts of interference with the foreign relations, and the foreign commerce of the United States, to punish espionage and better to enforce the criminal laws of the United States and for other purposes."

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