After 43 Years, Activists Admit Theft At FBI Office That Exposed Domestic Spying - NBCNews

[JDPriestly]

26. Sen. Wyden was warning about problems with the surveillance of some sort before Snowden

released his documents. But Wyden, although an elected member of Congress, was unable to speak out and tell us what was going on because even he would have been violating the law had he given any details out about the program.

So, Snowden could not have achieved what he wanted to do -- inform and set off a discussion among the American people about the extent of the surveillance and the violations of the Constitution by the NSA if he had simply gone to a member of Congress with what he knew.

Snowden's revelations are frustrating to the NSA and the right-wing hawks in Congress, but they are importnat to me. So I am glad Snowden did what he did.

It is easy to say he could have told Rand Paul, but had he done that, Paul's mouth would have been shut, Snowden's superiors at the NSA as well as the FBI would have silenced Snowden.

Remember, Snowden was not the first whistleblower at the NSA. Previous whistleblowers paid an enormous personal cost, lost security clearances and therefore their jobs because they told their bosses first and then went public with this information that shows how utterly dangerous the NSA is to our democracy.

Thomas Drake is an example of someone who followed the protocol. He has been harassed mercilessly.

Snowden had no choice other than to sitii and watch the illegal NSA program continue silently until it was too latel

If Snowden waits long enough he will be pardoned. The surveillance that the NSA is performing is way beyond what is needed to fight terrorism.