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Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

edition.cnn.com

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Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#21

Post by vermontdevil »

dandare wrote: post #11

It is unbelievable how (self)censored the mainstream media/politics discussion is. Keith Alexander lied to the congress on record, whistleblowers before Snowden were jailed for blowing the whistle and there was absolutely no chance he could reveal/fix any illegal wrongdoing by the government via the official whistleblowers channels. He did not run away and ruin his sweet life for the lulz, there was clearly no other…

Petraeus too. Now he's "recovered" and will be a big player in the next administration

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#22

Post by mmaunder »

Fede_V wrote: post #12
mmaunder wrote: post #9

I think this is a trial balloon and Holder is acting as a stalking horse for the Obama administration. They're setting up to pardon him if the public approves.

I would really like for this to be the case, but I kind of doubt it. Let's wait and see.

It would be a process and would involve him returning for something resembling a trial but my guess is he could do a lot of preliminary negotiation if the White House was open to it which would involve him serving no time and ending up a hero.

This is the last official statement AFAIK and the language is surprisingly sanguine. http://time.com/3974713/white-house-edward-snowden-petition/

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#23

Post by liquidise »

mmaunder wrote: post #9

I think this is a trial balloon and Holder is acting as a stalking horse for the Obama administration. They're setting up to pardon him if the public approves.

That would be wonderful, but i fear it won't come to pass. The Whitehouse won't, and frankly can't. They have to consider how many other NSA employees hold similar opinions and will consider going public with their information if their administration has anything but a hardline response to the Snowden case.

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#24

Post by woodman »

What a load of BS. He praises him for "raising the debate", but condemns him for "...the way he did it -- was inappropriate and illegal..." then going on to invite him to "Go to trial, try to cut a deal."

The issue has been brought up many times, with no positive change, because there was no massive dump of incredibly embarrassing evidence. All those hoping for some kind of Obama surprise turn around in the unprecedented level of whistleblower prosecution: you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#25

Post by CamperBob2 »

mtgx wrote: post #6
mikeyouse wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Failing that it is possible Trump might do it as a sign of pragmaticism. He's the only one who could sell it to his supporters, the same might be true of Obama for his people. Donald Trump would literally hang Snowden: “I think Snowden is a terrible threat, I think he’s a terrible traitor, and you know what we used to do in the good old days when we were a strong country — you know what we used to do to traitors, r…

Donald Trump says a lot of things on which he doesn't follow through.

Throughout history, it's really surprising how many of the great conspiracies and atrocities have been telegraphed clearly -- if not published openly -- by their perpetrators, far in advance of the actual deeds. No one who read Mein Kampf could have expressed surprise at Hitler's subsequent actions, for instance, and the same is true for other documents up to and including the neoconservatives' PNAC Manifesto.

So don't say you weren't warned if Trump actually does follow through on some of this stuff. There's no real downside to taking him at his word.

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#26

Post by blackguardx »

tdkl wrote: post #14
dandare wrote: post #11

It is unbelievable how (self)censored the mainstream media/politics discussion is. Keith Alexander lied to the congress on record, whistleblowers before Snowden were jailed for blowing the whistle and there was absolutely no chance he could reveal/fix any illegal wrongdoing by the government via the official whistleblowers channels. He did not run away and ruin his sweet life for the lulz, there was clearly no other…

> Keith Alexander lied to the congress on record You forgot the war liars/criminals Bush, Rice and Powell.

I was under the impression that Powell was a man of integrity and really resented being used by the Bush administration to provide justification for the war. I thought he was just regurgitating the lies told to him.

Edit: Am I being downvoted for expressing my knowledge of the situation? If you think I am wrong, say so. Try to educate me. Downvoting for disagreeing does nothing. When he testified about yellowcake uranium, I thought he believed the reports to be true.

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#28

Post by frandroid »

blackguardx wrote: post #26
tdkl wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Keith Alexander lied to the congress on record You forgot the war liars/criminals Bush, Rice and Powell.

I was under the impression that Powell was a man of integrity and really resented being used by the Bush administration to provide justification for the war. I thought he was just regurgitating the lies told to him. Edit: Am I being downvoted for expressing my knowledge of the situation? If you think I am wrong, say so. Try to educate me. Downvoting for disagreeing does nothing. When he testified about yellowcake ura…

That's still lying under oath.

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#29

Post by mwfunk »

mtgx wrote: post #6
mikeyouse wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Failing that it is possible Trump might do it as a sign of pragmaticism. He's the only one who could sell it to his supporters, the same might be true of Obama for his people. Donald Trump would literally hang Snowden: “I think Snowden is a terrible threat, I think he’s a terrible traitor, and you know what we used to do in the good old days when we were a strong country — you know what we used to do to traitors, r…

Donald Trump says a lot of things on which he doesn't follow through.

I must confess that I don't follow this line of reasoning. You're saying that even though Trump said he wants to execute Snowden, Snowden should come back to a Trump-led US anyway because Trump doesn't follow through on a lot of the things he says? Does this really sound like a compelling argument to you?

Re: Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a 'public service'

#30

Post by gogopuppygogo »

meursault334 wrote: post #5

I hope Obama does something to resolve both the Snowden situation and get Chelsea Manning out of prison before he leaves office. I can't see what the downside is to him of doing the right thing at this point.

Manning isn't the same as Snowden. Lumping them together is a disservice to what Snowden did.

Manning volunteered for the military and gave up some rights as a result. He then distributed data that put lives in danger because he didn't think to clean it up.

Snowden was a private citizen, one who felt his country was not going down the right path. He took time to hatch a plan and release data that he believed wouldn't risk the lives of others.

Snowden deserves a medal not prison.

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