US government sues Edward Snowden for new book 'Permanent Record'

Former CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) agent Edward Snowden's trouble with the US government has not affected the sales of his new memoir, Public Record. In fact, the publicity may have helped boost sales.

Snowden announced on Twitter that it is now among the best sellers in book stores: “The very book the government does not want you to read just became #1 best-selling book in the world. It is available wherever fine books are sold.” 

Here's what you need to know:

NBC reported on Wednesday morning that the US department of justice released a media statement in which it announced that it would slap Snowden, its former employee, with a lawsuit for violating the non-disclosure agreement he signed with the CIA and the NSA.

The contractual agreement between Snowden and government intelligence agencies requires him to submit the copy of the book to the agencies for review before publication. This would allow the agencies to prevent publication of any information that may be regarded as sensitive or classified.

“The lawsuit alleges that Snowden published his book without submitting it to the agencies for the pre-publication review, in violation of his express obligations under the agreements he signed,” the justice department said in a news release Tuesday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the book details why Snowden decided to leak files of classified surveillance programs to journalists back in 2013.

The lawsuit seeks to ensure that Snowden does not receive any monetary benefits from the sales of the book - and to prevent him from giving speeches on its contents, as opposed to barring its sales.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told the publication that intelligence information must not be used to generate profit but to protect the nation.

Snowden's attorney Ben Wizner said while the book does not contain any sensitive information that has not been published before, his client opted not to take the book for pre-review because he believed the agents would have acted in bad faith.

“Mr Snowden wrote this book to continue the global conversation about mass surveillance and free societies that his actions helped inspire. He hopes that today's lawsuit will bring the book to the attention of more readers throughout the world,” said Wizner.