Former US President Jimmy Carter does not send emails because he thinks the NSA is spying on him
He also criticised what he called "the invasion of human rights" in the US
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former US President Jimmy Carter has revealed that he never emails world leaders because he believes he is being spied on by US intelligence services.
The 89-year-old Democrat told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell during an interview on Sunday's Meet the Press programme: “I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored. And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write a letter myself, put it in the post office, and mail it.
"Because I believe if I send an email it will be monitored,” he said.
When questioned on surveillance activities by the US National Security Agency (NSA), he said “[The justification for surveillance] has been extremely liberalised and, I think, abused by our own intelligence agencies.
His comments follow the publication of documents disclosing the NSA’s surveillance programmes by its former contractor Edward Snowden
"He's [Snowden] obviously violated the laws of America, for which he's responsible, but I think the invasion of human rights and American privacy has gone too far," Carter said in an interview with CNN last June.
"I think that the secrecy that has been surrounding this invasion of privacy has been excessive, so I think that the bringing of it to the public notice has probably been, in the long term, beneficial."
On Sunday, Carter, who served from 1977 to 1981 during the Cold War, said that current US President Barack Obama had not asked for his advice on how to deal with Russia's annexation of Crimea.
When asked if he had been contacted by the president, Carter said: "unfortunately the answer is no. President Obama doesn't, but previous presidents have called on me.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments