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Sharing secrets: U.S. intelligence leaks

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Some did it for the money, some did it for idealism, others didn't do it at all. The United States has seen a number of high-profile leak scandals in the years, most recently involving <a href='http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/10/politics/nsa-leak/index.html'>former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden</a>, who revealed himself as the leaker of details of U.S. government surveillance programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans. Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia after initially fleeing to Hong Kong. He has been charged with three felony counts, including violations of the U.S. Espionage Act, over the leaks.

Some did it for the money, some did it for idealism, others didn't do it at all. The United States has seen a number of high-profile leak scandals in the years, most recently involving former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed himself as the leaker of details of U.S. government surveillance programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans. Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia after initially fleeing to Hong Kong. He has been charged with three felony counts, including violations of the U.S. Espionage Act, over the leaks.