Ex-NSA chief jokes about putting Edward Snowden on kill list

Former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden joked Thursday about putting Edward Snowden on a kill list.

Hayden noted that Snowden has been nominated for a European human rights award.

{mosads}”I must admit, in my darker moments over the past several months, I’d also thought of nominating Mr. Snowden, but it was for a different list,” Hayden said during a panel discussion on cybersecurity hosted by The Washington Post. 

The audience laughed, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who was also on the panel, responded, “I can help you with that.”

Both officials argued that Snowden’s leaks about the scope of the NSA’s surveillance programs have done serious damage to U.S. national security.

Snowden, who has been charged with espionage, has been living in Russia since the country granted him asylum in August.