# Snowden did not defect > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "Snowden did not defect," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/snowden-did-not-defect/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *John Kiriakou's two corrections to the treatment of Edward Snowden at Tulsi Gabbard's 2025 confirmation hearing, that "traitor" has a constitutional definition Snowden does not meet, there having been no declaration of war since December 1941, and that Snowden did not defect to Russia but was stranded in a Moscow transit lounge en route to Ecuador when John Kerry revoked his passport.* - **On "traitor":** Constitutionally, aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war - **Last declaration of war:** 8 December 1941 - **On "defected":** He was in the transit lounge of Moscow airport, bound for Ecuador - **What stranded him:** John Kerry revoking his passport - **Kiriakou's own view:** "Ed Snowden is a bona fide American hero" Watching Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hearing in early 2025, [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) said he was surprised by the vehemence directed at her over [Edward Snowden](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/edward-snowden), "especially surprised to see it coming from Republicans. I would expect it from Democrats."[1] He stated his own position first: "I think Ed Snowden is a bona fide American hero, and I was proud of Tulsi Gabbard for standing up for him and standing up for her own beliefs. She would not allow herself to be bullied."[1] Then he made two corrections. ## "Traitor" "One of the things that bothered me the most was the use of the word traitor. There is a constitutional definition of the word traitor. It is a person who provides aid and comfort to the enemy in a time of war."[1] Neither limb is satisfied, on his reading. Snowden did not provide aid and comfort to an enemy, and "we are not in a time of war, there has not been a declaration of war by Congress since December the 8th, 1941. So he's not a traitor."[1] ## "Defected" The second correction is factual. Kiriakou attributes the claim to Senator Angus King, whom he also reports as saying that Snowden should be hanging from a tree, and who said Snowden had defected to Russia.[2] "That is absolutely not true. He was in the transit lounge of Moscow airport on his way to Ecuador when John Kerry revoked his passport and he was not able to fly."[2] His conclusion is directed at the committee rather than at Snowden: "so let's keep the honest people honest up there on Capitol Hill."[3] ## The pattern he is describing Both corrections concern vocabulary rather than facts in dispute, and that is the point Kiriakou makes about his own case as well: he was called a leaker rather than a whistleblower for years, and the label did work that the evidence did not. He has given Snowden advice on the same premise, that a case is won or lost partly on who gets to describe it, and did so from prison in [an open letter](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-open-letter-to-edward-snowden) whose third and most emphatic instruction was never to speak to the FBI. ## See also - [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) - [Edward Snowden](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/edward-snowden) - [The open letter to Edward Snowden](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-open-letter-to-edward-snowden) - [No declaration of war since 1941](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/no-declaration-of-war-since-1941) - [Espionage Act](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/espionage-act) ## Sources 1. The CIA is FINISHED as we know it Trump is burning it down w (2025-02-06), at 08:59. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5jv4cA1oD0&t=539s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-02-06-redacted-the-cia-is-finished-as-we-know-it-trump-is-bu/ 2. The CIA is FINISHED as we know it Trump is burning it down w (2025-02-06), at 09:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5jv4cA1oD0&t=570s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-02-06-redacted-the-cia-is-finished-as-we-know-it-trump-is-bu/ 3. The CIA is FINISHED as we know it Trump is burning it down w (2025-02-06), at 10:01. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5jv4cA1oD0&t=601s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-02-06-redacted-the-cia-is-finished-as-we-know-it-trump-is-bu/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/snowden-did-not-defect/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt