Former Qwest CEO Out Prison, Blames NSA For Troubles

Nacchio says Snowden leaks back up what he's been saying all along

Revelations made by NSA leaker Edward Snowden would have given former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio a fighting chance to beat insider-trading charges that garnered him a 70-month jail term, says Nacchio, who was released this month after serving four and a half years.

Had he been able to provide testimony that the government brought the charges in retaliation of Nacchio’s refusal to let Qwest participate in a warrantless surveillance program sought by the NSA without approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court – a program that came to light with the NSA documents Snowden leaked, Nacchio told the Wall Street Journal.