Hillary Rodham Clinton Talks NSA, Presidential Aspirations With Kara Swisher

Americans feel “betrayed” by the revelations of the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities and it needs to be more transparent, Hillary Rodham Clinton at a gathering of female Silicon Valley executives, in a conversation that touched on issues from gender discrimination to her presidential aspirations.

Asked if former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was a traitor, Clinton responded that “I can never condone what he did,” saying that his disclosures had damaged national security. At the same time, the government also has responsibilities it needs to live up to, she said.

Meanwhile, Clinton said that she supports Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal for net neutrality rules, which are scheduled to be approved on Feb 26. “I think that for the FCC to do what they want to do to try to create net neutrality as the norm, they have a hook to hang it on,” she said, adding that she thought Chairman Wheeler and supporters were proposing to re-regulate broadband under Title II of the Communications Act because “it’s the only hook they’ve got.”