The DOJ recently filed a civil lawsuit this week against Edward Snowden over allegations that he violated his non-disclosure agreements which he undertook when he signed agreements that were a condition of his former employment with the CIA.
They argue that with his new memoir, Permanent Record, that he has violated that agreement by releasing information relating to previously leaked classified documents.
Since the DOJ announced that lawsuit to attempt to seize the proceeds of his book it has consequently climbed its way up the best-seller list to the top 10 on Amazon now.
It's currently in the number 1 spot.
Since the government is also looking to stop Snowden from profiting until the issue can be resolved, he's suggested that this is a good move for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
As for him violating his NDA, Snowden burned that bridge with the US government long ago.
They say he violated the NDA and released classified documents, against accusations that they themselves have made a mockery of the Constitution and the American people. And it shouldn't come as a surprise that they are still looking to silence him now.
Needless to say, the fact that this book is now being marketed as something the US government doesn't want you to read has helped peak the interest of many to now take a look.
Snowden has also recently called on the French president to grant him asylum, though he has admitted that eventually he would like to return home but only if he can be sure to get a fair jury trial.
To some, the crackdown on the new book might be surprising, to others humorous, but for a few it's downright tiresome.
"If only the Justice Department was as concerned with the systematic legal violations carried out by the US government’s mass surveillance programs as they are about trying to blunt the impact of a personal memoir.” - T. Timm, Executive Director at Freedom of The Press Foundation
