Judge Says US Government Can Seize Profits from Snowden's Book

A federal judge has ruled that the US government can seize all the proceeds NSA leaker Edward Snowden is making from his new book, Permanent Record.

On Tuesday, a US district judge ruled that Snowden violated secrecy agreements he signed with the CIA and the NSA by publishing the book, which recounts his time at both intelligence agencies as a government contractor.

The judge pointed to the "unambiguous" language in the signed agreements, which required Snowden to first submit the book to the CIA and the NSA for approval before publication. If he failed to do so, then under the agreements, the federal government has the power to confiscate any royalties he made from divulging US secrets.

"The terms of these Secrecy Agreements are clear, and provide that he is in breach of his contracts," Judge Liam O'Grady wrote in the ruling.

The same ruling says the US government can also confiscate any profits Snowden has made in paid speeches where's he's discussed sensitive details about CIA and NSA spy activities.

Snowden, who is currently residing in Russia, has yet to respond to the ruling. But his defense team had argued in court that both the CIA and the NSA never would have reviewed his book in "good faith and within a reasonable time."

"Second, [Snowden] asserts that this lawsuit is based upon animus towards his viewpoint and that the government is engaged in selectively enforcing the Secrecy Agreements," today's ruling noted. Nevertheless, the arguments failed to convince the district judge.

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Snowden's book, Permanent Record, was first published back in Sept. and has since become a New York Times Bestseller. However, on the day of the book's publication the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit to seize all proceeds that would be made from it.

According to Bloomberg, Snowden's legal team is reviewing its options to challenge the judge's ruling.

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