Edward Snowden ready to return to U.S., lawyer says

Double post

a reply to: paraphi

He wont get a fair trial because dureing jury selection the procecution with help from alphabet agencys will make sure the jury if fillec with die hard bush and cheny loveing neocons who get off on the police state, low IQ flag waveing dip#s who will side with the govement as soon as they mention 911 and die hard obama supporters who wont go against there beloved president. Andbif they can get a few agents or shills on the jury,

True librals
Libertarians
Anyone who supports the constitution
Critical thinkers
Moderates

They wont be allowed anywere near the court house let alone on the jury.

Plus CIA, DHS and NSA wont play fair and likely will play a game of classify and hide the evidence that could help the defence. And also a fun game of fake the records,

And they certainly wonr be above tampering with the jury
The next dirty trick is to have a judge on the trial who is one way or another in the NSA pockets.
He can then block defence motions that should not be blocked and allow bordline procecution motions through.

Snowdon is basicaly going up against powers that can bypass the courts and trample a trial with minimal effort.

And if and its a BIG if the trial starts to go his way? A shanking in a shower room will be arranged.

a reply to: crazyewok
Yes, all well and good. However, is there any evidence that under the close scrutiny of the press (at the least) he won't get a fair trial?

After all, he's accepted guilt, so it's more a process of working out if his defence can establish mitigation and reduce the potential tariff.

originally posted by: paraphi
a reply to: crazyewok
Yes, all well and good. However, is there any evidence that under the close scrutiny of the press (at the least) he won't get a fair trial?

After all, he's accepted guilt, so it's more a process of working out if his defence can establish mitigation and reduce the potential tariff.

Seeimg as the US press is comprimised I wouldnt trust them.

originally posted by: crazyewok
Seeimg as the US press is comprimised I wouldnt trust them.

I am sure Russia will send RT.com to cover it if that's more your style. Otherwise you can probably watch or retrieve the court transcript as you feel fit.

Having followed the Snowden, with some interest here is what I believe is going to happen and why.

The reason why Snowden is ready to return to the USA, is that Russia wants something from the USA, they have gotten all they can from the man, and can get no more from him. So they are ready to let him go and send him on his way. And, they want something from the USA. They know if they give the USA Snowden, they will have some leverage over the United States of America, showing a good will gestor on their part.

However, as noble as his actions may have been, the reality is that he did break the law, he will have to answer them in a court of law in front of a judge and jury. The US government can not make this man just disappear, nor deny him his due process. It is a lose/lose situation for the US government. How can they prosecute him, with all fairness and still expect to get a verdict, if the jury can not hear all of the evidence and weigh it. And Snowden knows that, as does his lawyer, hence the demand for a fair and impartial trial. If the US accepts it, it would mean that the dirty secrets that the USA and the different federal agencies that are doing this will be exposed. This will cause civil unrest and ultimately for a short time, cause the USA to back down on some issues. After all do they reveal everything and hope for the jury to find in favor of the Federal government, and against him, or does this end up being a bigger problem than the US Federal government would care to deal with.

In either case, the other aspect that he is hoping for, and it would be a long shot, would be a presidential pardon, one of those quaint items that an exiting president would give in his last year of office. Remember 2016 is an election year, and the last year that Obama would be in office. If he was to return home, if this is the truth, it would mean that it would be more towards after the November elections and the outgoing president would be more persuaded to sign such, thus making him immune to prosecution.

If he does not get a pardon, it will be a trial that most of the country and world will be watching, and waiting to hear. Any evidence that is presented and not given to the public would cast doubts on the entire case. We can only wait and see.

While I do not see Snowden as a traitor, I do see him as a criminal who fled the United States of America, violating several federal laws, to which he needs to answer for his crimes. Let a jury determine if he is guilty and let all of the evidence be weighed in an open court of law.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I think you may have a point.

I also think he may have been not only a spy to go after Russia but Glen Greenwald also.

Greenwald was onto some real good stuff until be got bogged down in this NSA stuff with Snowden stuff that many commentators pointed out was nothing new.

The Russians got all they wanted out of him and now he's looking to come back.

Ok. Come on, then. We've got an awful place waiting for you. Forever.

Maybe he thought he'd be a hero in the sovie..i mean Russia.Early paid retirement,Dacha in the country ect.Then reality sunk in.Oswald came back too.

originally posted by: TDawg61
Oswald came back too.

He wouldn't be the only one. There's an Army Story about the guy who was told by a Soviet contact that an amazing life awaited him in the People's paradise, if only he would snag a VINSON KY-57 and a Crazy 10 keyer and bring them with him when he came.

At the time, VINSON was new. He brought them one, and they pumped him for all the other info he had, then relegated him to an amazingly awful life. The story goes that he was given a job working with snakes. Eventually he came back and made gravel for years at Leavenworth.

Like us, they don't trust traitors. If you bring them huge amounts of happy data, they'll take it, but they're not going to trust YOU any more than we would. If you can turn your coat once, you will easily do it twice.

The timing on this is interesting.

He'll probably be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor ... like Betrayus just got away with. Precedence and all.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

I agree...if he still has any information of value (even if he already shared it with Russia) Our government will not be keen on a trial where evidence will become public knowledge. In all probability I would bet money he would be offered a deal, report directly to federal prison for a very minimal time before a pardon from on high comes down and he hits the Sunday morning "news" show circuit. I would guess sic to eight months actual time given elections are right around the corner.

a reply to: wondering5740
What government would be keen on having its dirty secrets aired out? No they will offer him a deal, and see if he takes it, or not. The problem is that if he takes it, he will be considered a convicted felon and pay a high price for his actions. Once he has that on his record, he will lose certain rights for a long time, and have a hard time getting employment, along with having to be on probation and under the eye of the government for a long time.

The question that should also be asked, is this a ploy on his part to be able to leave Russia and move to another country or to really come home? Consider this, if the USA reaches a deal with the man, and he decides to flee to another country, then what?

originally posted by: paraphi

originally posted by: crazyewok
Seeimg as the US press is comprimised I wouldnt trust them.

I am sure Russia will send RT.com to cover it if that's more your style. Otherwise you can probably watch or retrieve the court transcript as you feel fit.

Honestly you think the USA alphabet agency's will play fair? They wont to there uttermost to compromise the trial to there own ends?

a reply to: sdcigarpig

Who do you think he could be helpful to? At one point wasn't he trying to get to South America? He should have stayed in Hong Kong. Traditionally people are watched carefully after federal time however with a n "appropriate" time of alienation and condemnation in the court of public opinion I'm sure some hallowed halls of academia would welcome him with open arms.

He might be a double agent, gaining intel on Russia from within Russia. One of two things may have happened:

a reply to: MystikMushroom


That thought crossed my mind when i watched citizenfour a few days ago.

a reply to: wondering5740
Yes, he was trying to get to South America, but due to pressure from the USA, he was not able to get there. You see his actions have made him all the more questionable. First he takes the data, a violation of law, and his contract. In that contract there is a clause about doing such, the charges and penalties all involved. (The government, for all of the lack of getting anything done, is still very much anal retentive on details and it is clearly written in the fire print, and all of the training that goes along with being a contractor for the federal government.)

He leaves the USA, lying about where he is travelling and then goes to China. A country that would love to have intel on the USA, and once there, did not find what he was looking for, though the Chinese were willing to give him sanctuary, there was a price tag associated with such, and he turned them down. From there, he ended up in Russia, and could not leave the airport, nor board a plane to South America. Once there, he sought asylum from Russia, that welcomed him with open arms.

And I would lay good money down that his handlers there pumped him for information, along with going through the computers he had. Now he wants to leave, that tells me that they have gotten everything that they want from him and he has no more cards to trade, and ultimately is wanting to go home. The problem is he wants to come home without facing the music.

The US government wants him, if nothing more than to debrief him and put him into prison, and quietly, but that is not going to happen. So now the question what does this man do? He does not want to go to prison, so it would not be unrealistic that he would tell he is lawyer that he wants to come home, send signals to DC with his term and conditions. The Federal government can agree, but there is going to be a bit of a question as to how he will return, and the USA would want to ensure he did make it to here under custody, which he will not want. So he is going to try to get out of Russia, but is stuck there, until a deal can be reached. And once he gets here, if he does, it will be in 2016, where he can appeal and hope for a last minute Presidential pardon from an outgoing Obama.