Senators Differ Sharply on Penalty for Snowden

[bemildred]

WASHINGTON — A debate over whether Edward J. Snowden deserves lenience or the strict treatment the Obama administration has demanded for divulging a vast array of national secrets drew sharply opposing views on Sunday from two prominent senators.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian-minded Republican, said he disagreed with those who have argued for the most severe penalties for Mr. Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor.

“I don’t think Edward Snowden deserves a death penalty or life in prison; I think that’s inappropriate, and I think that’s why he fled, because that’s what he faced,” Mr. Paul said on the ABC News program “This Week.”

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But Mr. Schumer said that if Mr. Snowden considered himself part of the “grand tradition of civil disobedience in this country” — a tradition he said included the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers four decades ago — he should return to stand trial and face the consequences of his actions. Such a trial, the senator said, could be enlightening for the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/us/politics/senators-differ-sharply-on-penalty-for-snowden.html

[polichick]

1. I'd give him a medal - which is more than most in this Congress deserve.

[bemildred]

2. I find it interesting that the subject is now up for discussion. nt

[polichick]

4. Yes - that's good news. The people, with some help from the NYT...

are being heard.

[jberryhill]

3. The Senate is running the courts now?

[bemildred]

5. Those Senators are running their mouths, as usual. nt