The recommendations set forth by an internal government NSA review panel are nothing but “cosmetic changes” staged to “restore public confidence” in the U.S. government’s spying activities, charged NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in an email exchange with Brazil’s O Globo news station.

Publicized Sunday during O Globo’s “Fantastico” program, Snowden reportedly corresponded with reporter Sonia Bridi through his attorney in an effort to prevent interception and disclosure of his location.

“Their job wasn’t to protect privacy or deter abuses, it was to restore public confidence in these spying activities. Many of the recommendations they made are cosmetic changes,” said Snowden.

“The biggest offense one could commit in the U.S. isn’t to damage the government, but rather to embarrass it,” he continued. “It’s clear that I could not possibly get a fair trial in my country.”

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The comments followed the publication last week of an open letter by Snowden to the people of Brazil, of which a media blitz falsely reported that Snowden had offered NSA secrets in exchange for asylum in Brazil despite there being no indication of such a plea.

“The price for my speech was my passport, but I would pay it again: I will not be the one to ignore criminality for the sake of political comfort. I would rather be without a state than without a voice,” he wrote last week.