CNN "Piers Morgan Live" - Transcript - NSA Surveillance and Edward Snowden

Interview

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: This is PIERS MORGAN LIVE. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world . Tonight, NSA bombshell. Why a judge says the agency's collection of phone records is unconstitutional, and what it could mean for whistleblower Edward Snowden. And top secret (inaudible) you can't read, President Bush sends 28 pages, pages that reportedly include a stunning revelation about a massive 9/11 cover-up. This man has read the missing pages, and he says he's absolutely shocked. We'll hear why in just a minute.

Plus, the 17-year-old girl fighting for her life tonight after America's latest school shooting. I'll talk to one of her friends and to a classmate of the shooter. Also, are you dreaming of a green Christmas? The Mega Millions jackpot is $586 million, but you're more likely to hit a hole in one three times in a row than actually win it tonight. We reveal the dark side of the game everyone's talking about.

Want to begin, though, with our big story, that top secret 9/11 report and today's NSA bombshell. Joining me now to talk about both is Congressman Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts. Thank you, Congressman, for joining me. You're heavily involved in both of these things in different ways. Tell me first of all about this NSA ruling today. How significant is it? How likely is it this will go to the very top of the legal system in America?

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Well I had I think it was a victory for the fourth amendment, Piers. I think that it's a logical conclusion in terms of protecting our rights to unreasonable search and seizure and I think that the court came down the right side of the issue and even though today's decision was just for a preliminary injunction I think the text of the justice's decision indicate that they would in fact rule that this is unconstitutional.

MORGAN: It was a pretty scathing verdict to me, wasn't it talking about how the founding fathers would never have countenance this kind of behavior by government. Edward Snowden wait in tonight saying, today a secret program authorized by a secret court was, when exposed to the light of day, found to violate Americans' rights. It is the first day of many. Has Edward Snowden been vindicated by this ruling?

LYNCH: Well, I think he's been proven right in terms of his views of this program. I'm not so sure that people think he is right in terms of how he responded individually.

MORGAN: How should he have responded then, if he was there reading about all this feeling concerned it breached American's constitutional rights, what else should he have done?

LYNCH: Well, you know, I'm not going to argue against the fact that he brought a lot of things to light. But I think that maybe in some ways he may have exposed some of our people to great dangers in the process of doing that. And really I can't -- I really can't endorse that by putting some of our people that are working clean and decently in other places and putting them in a position where they are exposed. So there's some -- so obviously there's some good that was done here in terms of disclosing the operations of this NSA program especially the bulk gathering of data that the court has ruled this in this instance to be unconstitutional.

MORGAN: Is the way forward for Edward Snowden perhaps to take the advise or suggestion from an NSA official in a 60 Minutes special of the weekend which was he should perhaps be considered for amnesty. This isn't the way ...

LYNCH: Well ...

MORGAN: ... he said actually before you answer that. I just mean by what he said.

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LEDGETT: My personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about, I would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured and am I barred for those assurances would be very high. It would be more than just an assertion on his part.

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MORGAN: And may I supposed you think if Snowden was to give back the substantial data that he so far not revealed in return for an amnesty would that be a sensible conclusion to this given this court ruling today?

LYNCH: I would need a lot -- know a lot more about it before I made that type of conclusion, but let's just say that Edward Snowden has shown a light on some of these programs that a great amount of good has resulted from. That doesn't necessarily give him a pass on some other things that may yet to unfold or some damage that I'm not aware of right now that may have occurred because of his actions as well.

MORGAN: Let's turn quickly to this report you and Representative Walter Jones had proposed in Congress pass a resolution asking President Obama to de-classify the entire 2002 report into 9-11 the joint inquiry into intelligence community activities before and after the terror attack of September 11, 2001. Why have you done this, and I know that you've read what has not been revealed to the public and you can't talk about the precise detail, but how concern should we be about what we haven't been told?

LYNCH: Well, I think that in this case transparency is the way to go. Not just because of the value, one, and of having this information out there. Remember there was a very extensive report, the 9-11 report hundreds and hundreds of pages but these 28 pages were actually excised from that report. So these are not, you know, these are not just reductions. This -- The 28 pages that I've read and that Walter Jones read are actually been pulled from the report completely.

I think transparency would be served by this, number two I think if you think about the families who lost loved ones in this, they are certainly deserving of a full accounting and thirdly I think, after reading this 28 pages I think it could help to inform our decisions going forward not just looking back in historical context but I actually think it will help the quality of our decision making going forward.

MORGAN: Congressman Lynch, thank you very much indeed for joining me.

LYNCH: Thank you Piers.

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