Sen. Lindsey Graham blamed ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for "probably" causing deaths with his leaks about the agency's surveillance programs.
"You've gotten some people killed probably, no matter what your motives were," the South Carolina Republican said in a CNN interview Thursday evening.
"The results of your conduct have put some very brave people at risk . . . You did a lot of damage to your country, and you've put a lot of people who serve the country in difficult circumstances, under the cover of darkness, at risk. And you've got their blood on your hands."
Latest: Is Snowden a Hero or Traitor – Vote in Urgent Poll
Russia announced Thursday that it has granted asylum to Snowden for a year, infuriating the Obama administration. President Barack Obama had urged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to
turn Snowden over to U.S. authorities.
Graham said he can't share publicly the "ton" of evidence showing that Snowden has put American lives at risk. But he added, "I think people have been compromised in terms of how they represent our country; the way they operate overseas has been compromised."
"I'm very worried about sources and methods of the intelligence community being compromised. I'm very worried about the diminished ability of this [NSA] program to detect terrorist attacks before they come to our shores," he continued.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.