Snowden Says He Would Return To The US If Considered A Whistleblower

[ProSense]

Snowden Says He Would Return To The US If Considered A Whistleblower

Former National Security Contractor Edward Snowden on Thursday said that his return to the U.S. would be the "best resolution" for himself and the government, but he said he could not do so unless he were considered a whistleblower under federal law.

"Returning to the US, I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but it's unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistleblower protection laws, which through a failure in law did not cover national security contractors like myself," he said during an online chat when asked under what conditions he would return to the country.

Snowden said that current laws would not ensure him a fair trial.

"The hundred-year old law under which I've been charged, which was never intended to be used against people working in the public interest, and forbids a public interest defense," he said. "This is especially frustrating, because it means there's no chance to have a fair trial, and no way I can come home and make my case to a jury."

On Thursday U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the U.S. would "engage in conversation" with Snowden if he pled guilty to leaking documents. However, Holder said that granting the former contractor clemency would go "too far."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/snowden-return-to-us-whistleblower

Recent Pew poll:

The public is split on whether Edward Snowden’s leaks served the public interest, with 45% saying they did and 43% saying the leaks harmed public interest. But by 56% to 32%, most think that the government should pursue a criminal case against Snowden. These opinions are largely unchanged from last June, when Snowden first disclosed classified information to news organizations.

http://www.people-press.org/2014/01/20/obamas-nsa-speech-has-little-impact-on-skeptical-public/

[Whisp]

1. He must be getting sick of borscht. Poor traitorBaby.

Putin of the Wild Riding Nipples must not be pleasing the King of Humanity's Freedom enough

[Number23]

3. Wild Riding Nipples

[Whisp]

4. here: lol.

[Number23]

5. Oh. God. Just... no

That man sure loves himself, don't he?

[flamingdem]

6. Putin has a new friend by the way

[Whisp]

7. lol. Why does Eddie have his hands in Vladdie's pocketses?

[flamingdem]

19. I didn't notice that hand sneakin' in there

[Whisp]

25. Maybe that's how they steal electronic files in Russia?

Hey Vladdie, look over there! says the One that Snows.

*Meanwhile the Saviour of all Humanties, known and unknown, aka as The One that Snows, reaches into the pocket for Vladdie's thumb drive, throws Vladdie off the horse and fullfills the modern legend.

Now he's got the drive and the horse, all he has to do is legally change his name.

Edward Snowden is a modern day Paul Revere with a thumb drive ...

[Whisp]

8. I been through the desert on a horse with Poutine...

remember that song? and it's by AMERICA! seee???? see?

[flamingdem]

21. "We drinkin' wodka comrade not ovaltine"

second line..

[Whisp]

27. The lyrics are a gold mine.

Please copy/paste and add yours.



"A Horse With No Name"

On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life <---- I was lookin' at all those files
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

After two days in the desert sun <---- After two days in the Transit Zone
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
there was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

[Hissyspit]

10. Juvenile stuff.

[Whisp]

12. Absolutely agree. Eddie should grow up and take his lumps. n/t

[Number23]

45. Ha! This thread brought out the humorless as well as the stalkers

Both groups know who they are although some fit into more than one category.

[Marr]

33. You said it.

Look at that little subthread with the Putin images. It's embarrassingly stupid.

[Luminous Animal]

22. Absolutely right! He should never answer a question Jake Tapper ever asks him again.

[Number23]

2. "But by 56% to 32%, most think that the government should pursue a criminal case against Snowden"

That 56% number is definitely average. Some polls have the number slightly over 60%.

I know that there is tons of braying on DU about this and how everyone that doesn't believe that Snowden pisses wine is an "authoritarian NSA bootlicker" but the fact of the matter is, those screaming "THANK YOU EDWARD SNOWDEN!1' at the end of every single thread about him are in the minority. He does not enjoy strong public support.

[Hissyspit]

11. U.S. privacy board says NSA phone program illegal, should end

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBREA0M0TI20140123

[Number23]

14. And you think that the findings of a federal advisory board is the same thing as public opinion?

Or is there another reason you think your post has anything to do with the OP?

[Hissyspit]

13. Same polls show majority think Snowden is whistleblower not traitor.

So what? At one point, George W. Bush's approval rating was 80%.

[Number23]

15. Are you actually reading what I'm writing before you decide to gloam onto my posts?

Your "responses" are weird and irrelevant. I'm specifically speaking about the folks here that act as though everyone that doesn't support Snowden are in the minority and I thought I'd made that pretty clear.

I know that you latch on to everything Prosense posts with the jaws of life so I'll leave you to finish debating yourself. Good luck to the winner!

[Hissyspit]

18. Yes, I am.

No they're not. I absolutely am responding to what you are posting.

"Gloam on to everything Prosense..." Silly. I have as much right to respond in her posts as you do.

[Marr]

34. That one likes to try to bully people into not responding to their bullshit. /nt

[sheshe2]

9. Well of course he would return, I don't believe

he be likin' Russia very much. Poor, poor pitiful me!

[Egnever]

16. LOL All of a sudden America looks pretty good.

Asshat

[kiawah]

17. I think he always thought it looked good.

That's why he risked his freedom and life to save it....

[Egnever]

24. he didnt risk a thing

he made sure he escaped brfore turning traitor. If he thought it looked good he would have limited his release to domestic issues.

Hope this clown rots in russia.

If he wants to come back he can anytime but he will have to face the misic for what he did.

[Cha]

35. Snowden didn't risk anything. He's a sneak and he snuck/sneaked away

like a thief in the night.

[Luminous Animal]

30. Jake Tapper asked him the question. He answered.

[JI7]

20. so it's all about him ? not "i will return if you change or stop doing ......." or pass some laws

or anything like that.

it's all about him.

well, no surprise considering he ran off to china and russia and does not criticize them. if he has such problems with it why no criticism of them ?

[Jamaal510]

26. +1

[Hissyspit]

29. Oh, good grief.

[Luminous Animal]

32. The federal privacy agency concluded that the mass surveillance that Snowden revealed is illegal.

Revealing illegal activity IS whistleblowing. So yes. Snowden does deserve whistleblower protections.

[ProSense]

36. Here's

"The federal privacy agency concluded that the mass surveillance that Snowden revealed is illegal."

...what the report stated:

<...>

There are four grounds upon which we find that the telephone records program fails to comply with Section 215. First, the telephone records acquired under the program have no connection to any specific FBI investigation at the time of their collection. Second, because the records are collected in bulk — potentially encompassing all telephone calling records across the nation — they cannot be regarded as “relevant” to any FBI investigation as required by the statute without redefining the word relevant in a manner that is circular, unlimited in scope, and out of step with the case law from analogous legal contexts involving the production of records. Third, the program operates by putting telephone companies under an obligation to furnish new calling records on a daily basis as they are generated (instead of turning over records already in their possession) — an approach lacking foundation in the statute and one that is inconsistent with FISA as a whole. Fourth, the statute permits only the FBI to obtain items for use in its investigations; it does not authorize the NSA to collect anything.

<...>

The Section 215 bulk telephone records program lacks a viable legal foundation under Section 215, implicates constitutional concerns under the First and Fourth Amendments, raises serious threats to privacy and civil liberties as a policy matter, and has shown only limited value. As a result, the Board recommends that the government end the program.

Without the current Section 215 program, the government would still be able to seek telephone calling records directly from communications providers through other existing legal authorities. The Board does not recommend that the government impose data retention requirements on providers in order to facilitate any system of seeking records directly from private databases.

Once the Section 215 bulk collection program has ended, the government should purge the database of telephone records that have been collected and stored during the program’s operation, subject to limits on purging data that may arise under federal law or as a result of any pending litigation.

The Board also recommends against the enactment of legislation that would merely codify the existing program or any other program that collects bulk data on such a massive scale regarding individuals with no suspected ties to terrorism or criminal activity. Moreover, the Board’s constitutional analysis should provide a message of caution, and as a policy matter, given the significant privacy and civil liberties interests at stake, if Congress seeks to provide legal authority for any new program, it should seek the least intrusive alternative and should not legislate to the outer bounds of its authority.

<...>

However, to date the official disclosures relate almost exclusively to specific programs that had already been the subject of leaks, and we must be careful in citing these disclosures as object lessons for what additional transparency might be appropriate in the future. Any harm to national security was already done with Snowden’s illegal disclosures. Additional material has been officially disclosed to correct misperceptions caused by fragmentary leaks, but in part such disclosures were considered appropriate because it was judged that the marginal additional harm to national security would be minimal.

http://www.pclob.gov/SiteAssets/Pages/default/PCLOB-Report-on-the-Telephone-Records-Program.pdf

[Thinkingabout]

37. Where in the Whistleblower Act is Snowden covered?

[Luminous Animal]

41. He isn't but he and others like him should be.

[Thinkingabout]

42. If Snowden followed the proper path it would not have resulted in Espionage charges.

He choose not to follow protocol and stole files and delivered them to foreign sources, fled the country, left Hong Kong and then flew to Russia. His passport was revoked after he left Hong Kong because of the charges. Other airlines would not board him because of other rules. If boarded and he did not have proper passport the rules changed. He is a charged felon nit a whistle blower.

[msanthrope]

44. Um, no. That's not what they think at all. nt

[Number23]

46. Great point, J17

so it's all about him ? not "i will return if you change or stop doing ......." or pass some laws or anything like that.

it's all about him.

[warrprayer]

23. I'd be telling "Chiquita" holder

to kiss my pink programmer ass

[Jamaal510]

28. Well, the U.S. would

provide him with a nice, comfy room and guaranteed access to health care if he agrees to come back. That's all he'd have to do.

[Progressive dog]

31. The only reason he should be allowed back is to stand trial. nt

[Thinkingabout]

38. Maybe it would be a good time to tell Putin he doesn't like Russia as much as he thought.

[warrprayer]

39. I am grateful

to Snowden for throwing a stick into the cogs of the surveillance state before it ran over us and crushed democracy.

[alcibiades_mystery]

40. Hee hee

[ProSense]

43. Kick! n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

47. So why doesn't the regime want to call him a whistleblower? Does it have something to hide?

If it doesn't have anything to hide why not have an investigation of the NSA to make sure it's not hiding anything from the people? You know, like in a transparent democracy where the government serves the people.

[ProSense]

48. Huh? n/t