provided no basis to speculate that he was in mainland China. He could have been staying in a

220 provided no basis to speculate that he was in mainland China. He could have been staying in a well-prepared safe-house anywhere in Hong Kong or even at the home of an unknown associate. All that is really known is that soon after he emerged from this venue and gave his celebrated interview to journalist he was aboard an Aeroflot plane bound for Moscow where he would become, if he was already, a potential espionage source for Russia. Whatever his initial motivation may have been, Snowden’s actions would appear squarely at odds with his assertions of serving his country’s interests. Even accepting that he began with a sincere desire to be a world-class whistleblower, his mission evolved, deliberately or not, into one that led him to disclose key communications intelligence secrets to a foreign power with an agenda that can hardly be aligned with his country’s interests. In the end, it is Snowden’s actions, not his words that matter. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020372