President Obama should pardon Edward Snowden

[portlander23]

President Obama should pardon Edward Snowden
Dean Takahashi
VentureBeat

They say that the holidays make us feel charitable, and I hope that is the case. I believe that President Obama should pardon Edward Snowden, the man who blew the whistle on the National Security Agency’s global surveillance programs and revealed that the government was spying on all of us.

Once Donald Trump comes into office, no such pardon will be possible. In fact, Trump has suggested Snowden should be executed. Snowden can be viewed by patriotic Americans as a fellow patriot, a whistleblower, a dissident, or as a traitor. I see this as an easy one. He did us all a service, and, by and large, we are better off for it. We now know that we have to be more vigilant about protecting our data, our privacy, and our freedoms. He exposed illegal activities and started a public debate that led to a crackdown on the NSA’s sweeping powers and led to efforts to curb spying on U.S. citizens.

Snowden did this at great personal risk and with no obvious gain. If he complained about the spying through “appropriate channels,” he would have gotten nowhere. Congressional oversight committees knew about the activities, but they did nothing until there was a leak and a public outcry. They were supposed to be watch dogs on our behalf, but it was Snowden who forced them into action.

I’ve listened to Snowden offer stark and cogent warnings about the risks we face, and he speaks like a patriot. I would love to see him return and run for public office or be assigned to protecting our freedoms. He has demonstrated he has the expertise and commitment to help protect all our rights. I would rather have him back home, doing something on a behalf of American freedom, than leave him in Russia, where his asylum puts Vladimir Putin in the odd position of having a moral upper hand over the U.S. Our political system is strong enough to withstand any harm that could come from allowing someone like Snowden to walk free. Our democracy is big enough to tolerate the challenges that someone like Snowden can create.

[SidDithers]

1. ...

Sid

[Thinkingabout]

2. Based on what facts? Are you saying he is guilty?

He has admitted his guilt, he can still return to the US and face the charges but apparently he knows the results will be convictions so he continues to remain on the lam. Understanding the seriousness of his crimes should be easy to understand.

[kentuck]

3. I think President Obama considers him a traitor?

I doubt any type of pardon is in the offering.

[Trust Buster]

4. I strongly disagree. Snowden did not steal targeted classified info to share with a reporter.

Snowden stole meta classified data, high tailed it to China and Russia and shared the info with them.

[portlander23]

5. That's a great point

Except for the part where it's not true.

[Trust Buster]

6. It is definitely true. China and Russia did not host this man for humanity's sake. It is naive to

think otherwise.

[brush]

7. If you actually believe China didn't get info from Snowen and Greenwald I feel for you

China would not have let him in without quid pro quo.

And do you think Putin is putting him up out of the goodness of his heart?

[Johnathan146]

9. Putin could let him in as a way of saying FU to Obama

That would not suprise me.

[brush]

31. And what about China? They didn't let Snowden in without getting something in return

[KittyWampus]

22. It's literally true.

[JTFrog]

24. Don't you get tired carrying all that water?

Maybe you should try a little real news for a change.

[uponit7771]

14. +1, then after sharing such information the Russians were involved in a US election...

... there's no direct causation just enough to be suspicious and that's still bad enough NOT to pardon him

[KittyWampus]

21. He high-tailed it to the Russian embassy in China and THEN moved to Russia.

[BeyondGeography]

8. Snowden doesn't care where he lives as long as he has a toilet, heat and an Internet connection

If it's any consolation to his fans.

[X_Digger]

10. No. n/t

[MineralMan]

11. No, I think not.

We should not pardon anyone who passed massive amounts of classified information on to anyone who was unauthorized to have it. Down that road is disaster, whether it happened with Snowden or not.

Let him rot in Russia, and send Assange there, too, to live out the rest of his justifiably miserable life.

[brer cat]

16. I agree.

I will hitchhike on your post and save myself a few minutes to make my own post.

[FarPoint]

12. Absolutely not...

He's a Putin operative...We all know where that got us today.

[gulliver]

13. Snowden helped Putin immeasurably and sullied America

Dumbasses of the world united in agreement on the horrors of the U.S. government's spying operations. Meanwhile, Putin was developing far worse cyber warfare technologies. Snowden accepting "asylum" made Putin look like the good guy.

Snowden is a coward and a misguided, technically untalented asshole. He needs to man up, disown Putin, and come back to the United States to take his medicine. He's as responsible for the Trump presidency as anyone.

[SaschaHM]

15. I remember when...

Snowden said that 2016 was a choice between Goldman Sachs and Donald Trump. I think Obama should let Snowden see how Donald Trump works out for him. His window for a pardon has been shut.

[CakeGrrl]

17. Nope. The traitor shared info with Russia,

and there he can stay - at the whim of the Trump/Putin administration.

[JTFrog]

18. YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!!11%(#%*@!. Fuck Takahashi, Snowden and the Putin those fuckers rode in on. nt

[flamingdem]

25. Who is this Takahashi?

Don't remember his involvement

[JTFrog]

32. The author of this ridiculous piece. nt

[Kolesar]

33. Fuck Greenwald and Poitras, too. ... eom

[Rage4Bacon]

19. Snowden brought plenty of their underhanded monitoring to light...

Hero in my book. Set him free.

Now if more people will bring this type of nonsense to light, maybe we might stop the onslaught of unlawful monitoring of the masses.

[Tarheel_Dem]

38. Aw Jeez.

[KittyWampus]

20. He is a Russian asset. How could anyone be this simple-minded at this late date?

[oasis]

23. As long as the pardon comes with an extended vacation at Guantanamo.

[think]

26. Both the ACLU and Amnesty International are spear heading efforts to get a pardon for Snowden

And yet here we are....

[meadowlander]

27. Yes and selling out to Russia doesn't seem to mean what it used to.

[think]

28. who sold out to the Russians?

[hrmjustin]

29. No! He made a choice and has to live with it!

He had choices and made this one. We the public will never know exactly what he stole but he had other options!

If he wants to come home there are airports! Buy a ticket and come home Snowden! If he feels he was in the right he can always defend himself vigorously in court!

Snowden s no hero!

[think]

30. Here are a couple of the Whlstletblowers the main stream TV media choose to ignore:

Additional information:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/22/how-pentagon-punished-nsa-whistleblowers

There is plenty of information out there if one wants to become informed...

[MyNameGoesHere]

34. Oh don't worry, President Putinrump

Already has it planned for his first day in office.

[smilodon populator]

35. We're going to need a lot more Snowdens for the next 4 years.

Maybe we should acknowledge that he is a patriot, not a traitor. Maybe he can help do to Putin and his puppet what he did to the NSA bigwigs

[Tarheel_Dem]

37. Fuck Snowden and all his fanbois. He's no patriot.

[Tarheel_Dem]

36. Vladimir Putin? "The moral upper hand"? WTF wrote this shit? And why you disseminate it?

Oh, I forgot.

[KamaAina]

39. Get in line, Snowden

Don Siegelman and Leonard Peltier were ahead of you.

[doc03]

40. The SOB needs to be in Guantanamo, he helped Herr Trumpenfuhrer get elected nt