Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden • Hacker News Board

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#61

Post by smt88 » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:12 AM UTC

runawaybottle wrote: post #16

Politically, bringing back Snowden brings back the issue, Obama/Biden era big government spying program Prism. Trump: Remember everyone, Biden used to spy on you. This is similar to when he did a press conference with all of Bill Clinton’s accusers. Just a means to an end for Trump.

Politically, he just says insane things that get headlines, which distract from the real news: Covid killing hundreds of thousands under his care, dismantling of the Post Office, and other highly unpopular consequences of his presidency.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#62

Post by longtimegoogler » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:13 AM UTC

throwaway1777 wrote: post #44

HenryKissinger wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snowden is charged with theft, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person, under the 1917 Espionage Act. His unauthorized disclosures of classified information caused grave damage to the national security of the United States and allowed enemies of the United States to better conceal their commun…

Almost everyone thought mass surveillance was a conspiracy theory before Snowden. On the balance maybe he still deserves prison, but denying the positives of what Snowden did is disingenuous.

I don't think so. Wasn't it common knowledge that the Government had access to emails via ISPs and shredder well before Snowden's revelations? What was revealing, I guess was some of the technical details of how it was being done.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#63

Post by sneak » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:13 AM UTC

learc83 wrote: post #56

sneak wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear. If he ever sets foot in the US again, he will be quietly and instantly murdered by his former coworkers, even after he is pardoned.

What leaker or whistleblower has the CIA murdered? Why didn’t they murder Manning?

Manning was declared guilty in advance by the US president prior to her trial, and subsequently was tortured so badly prior to trial she tried to kill herself twice whilst imprisoned.

https://www.politico.com/story/2011/04/obama-says-manning-br...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/12/bradley-mannin...

She was reimprisoned after her pardon, where she was subjected again to inhumane treatment, and attempted suicide a third time as a result.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#64

Post by gpm » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:14 AM UTC

jjoonathan wrote: post #53

HenryKissinger wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snowden is charged with theft, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person, under the 1917 Espionage Act. His unauthorized disclosures of classified information caused grave damage to the national security of the United States and allowed enemies of the United States to better conceal their commun…

If this were youtube I could at least be certain that an account named "HenryKissinger" spouting authoritarian drivel was a novelty account. Here? I legitimately don't know.

In his profile

> about: Not related to the real Henry Kissinger.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#65

Post by cryptonector » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:14 AM UTC

mindcrime wrote: post #54

I'll be impressed when he actually issues a pardon. I'd say Trump is notorious for "talking about" things without ever delivering anything. Take the issue of 50 state concealed carry reciprocity. Regardless of what you think about this issue yourself, it seems clear that Trump has tried to pander to gun owners and 2A advocates by constantly talking about this. But last I heard, there had been no meaningful action on…

It's easy to promise controversial things that require Congressional action and cannot pass Congress. The President -no matter who they are or what Congressional action they promised- can't even push their allies in Congress to do something that can't work because of the filibuster or lack of sufficient majorities. Every candidate, and every President, promises things that they know Congress won't likely deliver -- cheap talk. But there are things they can do and so promises they can keep, so long as either they are sufficiently popular or do not require Congressional action.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#66

Post by duxup » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:14 AM UTC

kgarten wrote: post #58

Is it just me or is the term leaker politically charged in the context. For me, Snowden is a whistle blower not a leaker. There's a reason why he revealed secretes (he also didn't just release them, but was very careful how much he revealed), the secrete programs were unconstitutional -> whistle blower not leaker. edit: typo.

I've seen him refered to as a leaker before, I honestly didn't think much of it.

I don't think that term is automatically negative.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#67

Post by undoware » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:15 AM UTC

undoware wrote: post #37

[flagged]

I'd be interested to know the rationale for the downvote.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#68

Post by drewcoo » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:15 AM UTC

Even in the title, Reuters editorializes blatantly by labeling Snowden "leaker." And the downvotes here are already clearly politically motivated.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#69

Post by bilbo0s » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:15 AM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #47

sneak wrote: post #38

The CIA will instagib Snowden the instant it is physically possible for them to do so. A pardon will never change that. The commander of the CIA states it plainly: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/39568370275766272... (Remember, we're talking about the same CIA that hacked US congressional computers, because the congress was investigating the CIA’s torture record and they wanted to cover it up. Then the CIA…

Except a pardon would mean he could move back to the US and leave Russia

I don't know that I would advise Snowden to ever come to the US. Pardon or no pardon. And I mean that in a very caring way. The people after him are dangerous, and they don't care about laws, or rights. Think Erik Prince, but actually smart, methodical, and quiet. Oh, and there are thousands of them.

For Mr Snowden, this is not a game.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#70

Post by learc83 » Sun, Aug 16, 2020, 3:15 AM UTC

sneak wrote: post #63

learc83 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What leaker or whistleblower has the CIA murdered? Why didn’t they murder Manning?

Manning was declared guilty in advance by the US president prior to her trial, and subsequently was tortured so badly prior to trial she tried to kill herself twice whilst imprisoned. https://www.politico.com/story/2011/04/obama-says-manning-br... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/12/bradley-mannin... She was reimprisoned after her pardon , where she was subjected again to inhumane treatment, and attempted s…

Why didn’t they kill her?

If you know enough about the CIA to be absolutely certain they will murder Snowden, then surely you know what line he crossed that Chelsea Manning didn’t?

You might also want to point out that the torture was solitary confinement for all but 1 hour per day, which I’m no fan of, but just to be clear it wasn’t torture in the water boarding or toenail removal sense.