Former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden says a picture of him with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in the September issue of Wired magazine wasn't a memorable experience because he doesn't remember taking the photo.
"Mr. Snowden remains a defector, all right, whether he's a got a picture of me on his wall or not," Hayden said to NewsmaxTV Friday. Static in the recording makes the interview temporarily inaudible after the remark.
"I'm pretty sure in 2011, which is the alleged date of picture I was actually the guest speaker.,.and as I recall I gave a hell of a speech," Hayden said in the interview. "An awful lot of young folks were coming up and they wanted to get their picture taken so obviously Mr. Snowden was one of that group. If the picture is authentic, at least from my point of view, it's not memorable because I don't remember the young man."
The photo from the large profile of Snowden:
Snowden with General Michael Hayden at a gala in 2011 http://t.co/UABVyCMSYC
Hayden has in the past called Snowen "a traitor" and has said Snowden had "evil intent" in leaking information.