Snowden: NSA Involved in 'Industrial Espionage'

The vast dragnet operations of the NSA include “industrial espionage,” whistleblower Edward Snowden told the German television network ARD TV in an exclusive interview airing Sunday evening.

In his first televised appearance since speaking with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras in Hong Kong, Snowden spoke at length with German journalist Hubert Seipel on his current predicament as an exile living in Russia.

In text released ahead of the interview, ARD TV quoted Snowden saying the NSA does not limit its espionage to issues of national security, giving the example of the German engineering firm Siemens.

“If there is information about Siemens that benefit the national interest of the United States, but have nothing to do with national security, then take this information anyway,” Snowden said, according to ARD, which recorded the interview in Russia.