Edward Snowden’s book tour took him this week to the Joe Rogan Experience, the popular podcast for MMA and DMT enthusiasts, where the former NSA agent shared what he found about aliens after snooping around the government’s most secret intelligence networks. The answer? Nothing.
“I went looking on the network,” Snowden said, and there was no evidence that the government is hiding evidence of intelligent alien life. “I had ridiculous access to the networks of the NSA, CIA, military, all these groups — I couldn’t find anything. If it’s hidden, and it could be hidden, it’s hidden really damn well, even from people who are on the inside.”
Snowden also addressed the issue in his book, Permanent Record, which came out last month. “For the record, as far as I could tell, aliens have never contacted Earth, or at least they haven’t contacted US intelligence,” he wrote.
Snowden’s inability to find proof of alien life on the intelligence networks doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, he said. Aliens “probably are” out there, he told Rogan. There’s just no proof the U.S. government is hiding that from us (but there are plenty of other reasons to believe).
The alien information, or lack thereof, is the most compelling news Snowden has made on his book tour, which kicked off last month with an appearance on CBS This Morning. Snowden, who is currently in exile in Russia, said he wants to come home.
“I would like to return to the United States,” the North Carolina native said. “That is the ultimate goal. But if I’m gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial.”
The whistle-blower’s book got a big boost by the Department of Justice the same day it was released. On September 17, the DOJ said in a lawsuit that Snowden violated nondisclosure agreements signed with the NSA and CIA. The goal of its lawsuit is not to stop Snowden’s book from being sold, but rather to recoup all of its profits. “Intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide personal profit,” a government lawyer said. “This lawsuit will ensure that Edward Snowden receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him.”
