The UK's Independent newspaper had an "exclusive" article, in which they claim that documents from Snowden's leaks revealed a secret internet surveillance base in the Middle East run by the UK government.

While the article implies (though does not state) that it got those documents from Snowden, Snowden says he has never talked to nor given anything to The Independent.

Instead, he argues, that he's worked carefully with key journalists (namely, Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Barton Gellman) to make sure that the things they publish don't reveal anything that might put anyone in danger.

Snowden suggests, instead, that this is the UK government itself releasing this information in an attempt to "defend" the detention of David Miranda.

An article by Glenn Greenwald in The Guardian quoted Snowden as saying that:

“I have never spoken with, worked with, or provided any journalistic materials to the Independent. The journalists I have worked with have, at my request, been judicious and careful in ensuring that the only things disclosed are what the public should know but that does not place any person in danger. People at all levels of society up to and including the President of the United States have recognized the contribution of these careful disclosures to a necessary public debate, and we are proud of this record.

It appears that the UK government is now seeking to create an appearance that the Guardian and Washington Post's disclosures are harmful, and they are doing so by intentionally leaking harmful information to The Independent and attributing it to others. The UK government should explain the reasoning behind this decision to disclose information that, were it released by a private citizen, they would argue is a criminal act.”

The Independent's coverage never actually claims it got the documents from Snowden, even if it leaves that impression.

Instead, they claim that "information on [the base's] activities was contained in the leaked documents obtained from the NSA by Edward Snowden."

In other words, they got that information from someone else -- almost certainly the UK government.

The Independent article also implies that the UK government is afraid that Greenwald is going to start revealing this type of info in response to the Miranda detention, even though there's no basis to believe that all.

SHI/SHI