Alleged NSA whistleblower: A Ron Paul supporter?
Edward Snowden, the man who claims to be the source of a series of recent high-profile national security leaks, may also be a fan of former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.
According to FEC records, a man named Edward Snowden made two separate contributions, of $250 each, to Paul's 2012 presidential campaign, once in March and once in May.
The first contribution is attributed to an Edward Snowden in Columbia, Md., who is listed as an employee of Dell. According to the Guardian, the paper to which Snowden first brought his information, and which has subsequently been working with him, Dell is among the companies for which Snowden has worked as a contractor in recent years. It has also been reported that Snowden's family lives in Ellicott City, Md., which is next to Columbia, Md.
The second donation, about two months later, comes out of Waipahu, Hawaii. Snowden was working at an NSA office in Hawaii until May. According to the NSA's website, it has offices in Honolulu, which is about 14 miles from Waihapu.
The Guardian quotes Snowden as saying he voted for a third party candidate in 2008, though he did not identify the party or the candidate. Paul, a staunch libertarian who has vigilantly pursued issues surrounding civil liberties, ran for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2008 and 2012.
CBS News has not been in touch with Snowden, and cannot confirm definitively that he made these donations. Other people named Edward Snowden are listed as having made political contributions, according to the FEC filings, but none of those profiles appear to match that of the Guardian source.
