By . Meghan Keneally . PUBLISHED: . 17:34 EST, 17 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:02 EST, 17 December 2013 . A former contracting colleague of Edward Snowden's has spoken out in an effort to fight back against the way that he is being depicted by government officials. A coworker has revealed that despite the picture that has been painted of Snowden- which casts him as a man who stole colleagues passwords and hid his feelings about the controversial surveillance tactics used by the NSA to collect citizens phone records- the reason why he was given so much access is clear. 'That kid was a genius among geniuses,' the unidentified colleague told Forbes. Not all bad: One of Edward Snowden's former NSA colleagues spoke out about how the hacker was granted access because of his unparalleled skill . 'NSA is full of smart people but anybody who sat in a meeting with Ed will tell you he was in a class of his own... I've never seen anything like it.' Forbes is not revealing the source's name or gender, only saying that the individual felt compelled to come forward in order to defend Snowden against the claims that he was a traitor. 'I won't call him a hero, but he's sure as hell no traitor,' the source said. 'I was shocked and betrayed when I first learned the news, but as more time passes I'm inclined to believe he really is trying to do the right thing and it's not out of character for him. I don't agree with his methods, but I understand why he did it.' Looking back at Snowden's behavior before the leak should have raised some red flags for his supervisors. The clearest indication of his possible ulterior motives was the fact that he sometimes wore a hoodie sweatshirt that had a parody NSA sweatshirt that showed AT&T cables and eavesdropping headphones instead of the standard seal of the agency. He also kept a copy of the Constitution at his desk and regularly used it during debates with his bosses about practices that he thought were illegal. Ironic fashion statement: Snowden apparently wore a sweatshirt just like this one to work at the NSA and his colleagues thought it was just a funny fashion choice rather than a warning sign . The source told Forbes that because Snowden was such a skilled consultant, his superiors gave him full administrative clearance without running him through the proper background channels because they wanted to make use of his talents. 'Big mistake in hindsight,' the source told the news site. 'But if you have a guy who could do things nobody else could do, and the only problem was that his badge was green instead of blue, what would you do?' Before making his controversial move, Snowden allegedly tried to help the NSA in beefing up their security protocols, reporting glitches that were apparently never fixed. The source also revealed that one of Snowden's bosses, whose name has not been released, gave Snowden his password while he was on vacation. NSA investigators have not found that account to have been misused during that time by Snowden. His supporters: Journalist Glenn Greenwald (left) and his partner David Miranda (right) are trying to help him secure asylum in any number of South American countries, including Miranda's home country of Brazil . He was also offered a higher position on a more prestigious team- called Tailored Access Operations- and Snowden declined in favor of a consulting position at Booz Allen. The move also kept Snowden from becoming a fully-fledged government employee which would theoretically increase the number of criminal charges he could be prosecuted with post-leak. The source's stories, while not taking the blame away from Snowden, certainly paints him in a better light than other recent interviews by former CIA director Michael Morell told 60 Minutes. ‘I do not believe he is a whistle blower,’ Mr Morell told the CBS interviewer on Sunday. ‘I do not believe he is a hero, I believe he has betrayed his country.’ Snowden's case got a boost from a District Court judge who placed a temporary injunction against the government from making unlawful searches and seizures of two specific citizens. The ruling was seen as a major victory for Snowden and his advocates as it is expected to be brought to the Supreme Court. Today, Snowden penned an open letter to the people of Brazil- whose president has publicly condemned the U.S. for their surveillance tactics- offering to help them prevent further spying. He claimed the letter was not a plea for asylum, but many viewed it that way since his permission to stay in Russia will expire after one year.
His former colleague tells how Snowden wore a hacker sweatshirt to the NSA offices in Hawaii and kept a Constitution on his desk .
The hacker is remembered as really talented consultant who was quickly moved up the food chain because they wanted to use his skills .
He regularly reported security breaches to his superiors that went unfixed .
Comes as government officials continue to call him a felonious traitor .
By . Meghan Keneally . PUBLISHED: . 17:34 EST, 17 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:02 EST, 17 December 2013 . A former contracting colleague of Edward Snowden's has spoken out in an effort to fight back against the way that he is being depicted by government officials. A coworker has revealed that despite the picture that has been painted of Snowden- which casts him as a man who stole colleagues passwords and hid his feelings about the controversial surveillance tactics used by the NSA to collect citizens phone records- the reason why he was given so much access is clear. 'That kid was a genius among geniuses,' the unidentified colleague told Forbes. Not all bad: One of Edward Snowden's former NSA colleagues spoke out about how the hacker was granted access because of his unparalleled skill . 'NSA is full of smart people but anybody who sat in a meeting with Ed will tell you he was in a class of his own... I've never seen anything like it.' Forbes is not revealing the source's name or gender, only saying that the individual felt compelled to come forward in order to defend Snowden against the claims that he was a traitor. 'I won't call him a hero, but he's sure as hell no traitor,' the source said. 'I was shocked and betrayed when I first learned the news, but as more time passes I'm inclined to believe he really is trying to do the right thing and it's not out of character for him. I don't agree with his methods, but I understand why he did it.' Looking back at Snowden's behavior before the leak should have raised some red flags for his supervisors. The clearest indication of his possible ulterior motives was the fact that he sometimes wore a hoodie sweatshirt that had a parody NSA sweatshirt that showed AT&T cables and eavesdropping headphones instead of the standard seal of the agency. He also kept a copy of the Constitution at his desk and regularly used it during debates with his bosses about practices that he thought were illegal. Ironic fashion statement: Snowden apparently wore a sweatshirt just like this one to work at the NSA and his colleagues thought it was just a funny fashion choice rather than a warning sign . The source told Forbes that because Snowden was such a skilled consultant, his superiors gave him full administrative clearance without running him through the proper background channels because they wanted to make use of his talents. 'Big mistake in hindsight,' the source told the news site. 'But if you have a guy who could do things nobody else could do, and the only problem was that his badge was green instead of blue, what would you do?' Before making his controversial move, Snowden allegedly tried to help the NSA in beefing up their security protocols, reporting glitches that were apparently never fixed. The source also revealed that one of Snowden's bosses, whose name has not been released, gave Snowden his password while he was on vacation. NSA investigators have not found that account to have been misused during that time by Snowden. His supporters: Journalist Glenn Greenwald (left) and his partner David Miranda (right) are trying to help him secure asylum in any number of South American countries, including Miranda's home country of Brazil . He was also offered a higher position on a more prestigious team- called Tailored Access Operations- and Snowden declined in favor of a consulting position at Booz Allen. The move also kept Snowden from becoming a fully-fledged government employee which would theoretically increase the number of criminal charges he could be prosecuted with post-leak. The source's stories, while not taking the blame away from Snowden, certainly paints him in a better light than other recent interviews by former CIA director Michael Morell told 60 Minutes. ‘I do not believe he is a whistle blower,’ Mr Morell told the CBS interviewer on Sunday. ‘I do not believe he is a hero, I believe he has betrayed his country.’ Snowden's case got a boost from a District Court judge who placed a temporary injunction against the government from making unlawful searches and seizures of two specific citizens. The ruling was seen as a major victory for Snowden and his advocates as it is expected to be brought to the Supreme Court. Today, Snowden penned an open letter to the people of Brazil- whose president has publicly condemned the U.S. for their surveillance tactics- offering to help them prevent further spying. He claimed the letter was not a plea for asylum, but many viewed it that way since his permission to stay in Russia will expire after one year.
December 2013 . A former contracting colleague of depicted by government officials. A coworker has because of his unparalleled skill . 'NSA is full the claims that he was a traitor. 'I won't call seal of the agency. He also kept a copy of the Constitution at his desk and regularly used it statement: Snowden apparently wore a sweatshirt skilled consultant, his superiors gave him full they wanted to make use of his talents. 'Big move, Snowden allegedly tried to help the NSA in