Former Attorney General Eric holder: "Snowden did us a service"

We are finally seeing some acknowledgement from people in government that What Edward Snowden did in exposing the extent of the "Spy on everyone" network did a great service to the US. Still, they say he must be accountable for revealing it in violation of the law. Therein lies the problem- That the laws in many cases serve to protect things that in and of themselves would be offensive to the standards of the American people, and are so ugly that they can only exist is secrecy. There is a need for secrecy in many intelligence operations, of course- the issue here was the government spying on all the citizens, as well as it's allies. That is not in investigation of a crime or legitimate threat, but as a dragnet covering everyone; a giant fishing expedition by factions of government who suspect all of us. In collection of such date, they created a database not unlike the records J Edgar Hoover assembled that gave him the power over to intimidate virtually all of those in government and high positions.

The reason that Snowden does not have a lot of peers who have already followed in his footsteps is that his act cost Snowden virtually everything and has made him a fugitive in exile from the very nation he sought to protect. I have yet to hear of any punishment for the people who masterminded the plans to universally spy on all of us, however. It seems that snitching is still more of a crime to government than the crime it exposes, and that keeps the dirt under the rug. That is a sad statement about the lack of honor in our government. Just as a soldier has no obligation to carry out an illegal order, I would think that Snowden knew that what he was seeing was immoral as well as offensive to all Americans; that it was "legal" only by distorting the constitutional protections and keeping it secret. He eventually chose to expose it rather than help hide it from the people- and he knew what to expect in return. I believe he made the right choice, and reluctantly. The government gave him no choice other than to be a collaborator.

Would you exonerate Snowden? How can we protect the nation from political corruption if we punish those who dare to reveal it?

 

I would exonerate Snowden for every single piece of information he released on illegal domestic collection.




Then I would put him in prison for the rest of his life for illegally releasing tens of thousands of documents related to completely legal foreign intelligence collection.

 

Snowden is both a hero and a traitor. Had he not fled and instead was willing to stay and face the consequences of his actions. A HERO.

 

Or perhaps both- a hero to the American people, a traitor to the corruption in government. The government does these things because it lacks an honorable culture or character. Snowden did what he did because he had those things. The people does not make government act as it does, but we should be ashamed that we have failed to stop it.

You may be aware that Snowden has offered to return and face trial- provided he could present his defense as an act he saw necessary for the good of the nation. Government will not allow him to do that; they do not want that story to get any more public review than it already has- so any trial would be scripted show. It is government that does not want to be responsible for what it has done, not Snowden.

 

Excellent point! Instead, I see him as an utter coward and traitor...for, among other reasons, whatever information he may have passed on to Putin.



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He is also a traitor to the American people for releasing classified information on foreign intelligence collection.

 

And who gets to decide what secrets to reveal?

Should I decide that we have spies in Hungary committing illegal acts because I believe people need to know thereby ruining our relations with them?

Those of you who want no secrets in government do not understand why governments need some secrets. What if Snowden had printed a paper in the civil war about all of the Norths spy networks in the south?

Would that be ok?

 

Snowden has done the nation of the 1787 constitution a great service.

However, the imperialistic infiltrated federal government that has grown since its covert inception in 1871 was not served by what Snowden did.

Before judging Snowden, we must decide who and what America is.

If we claim to be a republic under the 1787 constitution, then he is a hero, because all of the foreign intelligence divulged was based on imperialism and unconstitutional wars of the past or new ones planned.

If we are the empire of England and Rome extended to America through the covert infiltration of 1871, he is a traitor.

I think we are neither, we are deeply misled and confused.