Eric Holder: Edward Snowden Performed "Public Service"

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: sdcigarpig

Tell me again what did he do for the country? This guy sells out the nation giving state secrets away and he's glorified on these pages.
Hillary had emails addressed to her regarding state business and because her hardware isn't govt approved she should receive a lethal injection after being pilloried for a month.

It makes no sense to me.

But Hillary never intended to release anything to the public did she.

a reply to: Swills

In No Place to Hide Snowden referred to a CIA guy in Europe who tried to conscript a banker to provide insider trading details. When he declined, he was tricked into drink-driving and, obviously, the local police were tipped off and he lost his career.

Small anecdotes like that imply a lot more and really do represent a 'public service' imho.

The rumour-mill has always murmured about abuse of privilege and how people who are on our side actually aren't. Adding confirmation to, at least, some of the rumours is painful, but necessary. Even though I fully understand the need for Intel folk to be (ahem) flexible with the law, the lack of constructive and practical oversight can easily backfire.

No prizes for Holder. Too little, too late and who can applaud hypocrisy like that? Hmmm has anything substantially changed since? Snowden's revelations were controversial and ultimately seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

a reply to: Sillyolme

What the man did, is take information that was classified and give it to a reporter. While that is not selling out, it is against the law. And unlike the other guy before him, who did the same thing, he ran to another country, instead of facing a public trial.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
a reply to: pryingopen3rdeye

There are ways to be a whistle blower in the government, laws that would protect him.

Others tried before Snowden using official internal channels to correct abuses. People like Bill Binney, Thomas Drake, and J Kirk Wiebe. These were people prosecuted for using proper official channels to try and correct these problems. In fact it was the governments reaction to these three among others that caused Snowden to do what he did, in the manner that he did.

a reply to: Aazadan

"The law is the law". What a trash argument. I can just see these law abiders in north korea saying that when someone speaks ill of kim jung.
The law is not always right, see gay marriage, civil rights, voting, segregation, etc.
Can see these law clowns at little rock complaining about blacks in white schools.

Snowden did it perfectly. Exposed and escaped unjust people and laws.
If i broke sharia law in saudi arabia, guess what, im not going back to face my crime.

Edward Snowden; opinions vary from traitor to hero, Holders says come home and do your time, but...



Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson: Pardon Edward Snowden

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson told Newsmax TV on Tuesday that he would "certainly look into pardoning" former NSA contractor Edward Snowden if he were elected to the White House in November.

"This is someone who has divulged information that we would not know about currently — and that's the United States government spying on all of us as U.S. citizens," Johnson, 63, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, told "The Hard Line" host John Bachman. "I don't want to see him in prison."

source