Snowden: I’ll be made to suffer for leaks

Edward Snowden used the code name “Verax,” truth-teller in Latin, as he made his cautious approach to Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman about disclosing some dramatic state secrets on top-secret intelligence gathering and surveillance.

The 29-year-old intelligence contractor said he knew the great risks he was taking in exposing a phone records monitoring programme and an internet scouring programme designed by the US government to monitor for threats of terrorism.

In their communications, he referred to Gellman as “Brassbanner”.