Former NSA director: Snowden cache would be ‘catastrophic’

Former National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden on Sunday said that reports that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is keeping a “Doomsday Cache” of highly classified material are within reason.

“I have no reason to doubt it,” Hayden said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“It’s the kind of thing that someone as clever as Snowden has shown himself to be would do.”

{mosads}If it does exist, the “Doomsday Cache” would be “catastrophic for the safety and security of the American nation,” Hayden added.

Hayden said he would not support attempts to work with Snowden to keep the documents hidden, comparing it to negotiating with terrorists.

Hayden also said Sunday that he supports the idea of splitting up the job of NSA director into two positions: one person to lead the NSA and another to head up U.S. Cyber Command.

Currently, Gen. Keith Alexander serves as the head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command. The administration is said to be considering splitting the job up, with a civilian serving as head of the NSA and a military official serving as head of U.S. Cyber Command.

“I actually think the idea is good, but not for the reasons the administration has put forward,” Hayden said.

While some are concerned about the over-concentration of power that comes with having a single person serve both roles, Hayden cited concerns about the amount of responsibility a single person faces.

“It’s not about the over concentration of power, its just that the responsibilities have grown too great,” he said.