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Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

reuters.com

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Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#141

Post by Lammy »

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…

That's every politician on every issue, though. Relevant Bors: https://thenib.com/the-gay-marriage-rush/

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#142

Post by peacefulhat »

atlgator wrote: post #122
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.

He was not a Government employee at the time. Contractors don't get to be whistle blowers. EDIT: Turns out the law does protect contractors, so I guess it's circumstantial that employees get branded whistle blowers and contractors get charged as spies.

Brilliant, just hire contractors to get around good governance rules :)

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#143

Post by dr-detroit »

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.

This is a historic political event. People who linked the Alt Right to Snowden have been ostracized as having "Trump Derangement Syndrome" up until now.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#144

Post by emilsedgh »

pyuser583 wrote: post #77
runawaybottle wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was the Pentagon Papers a leak or whistleblowing? Seems like we have a precedent for this.

Both

Using "leaker" instead of "whisteblower" is not necessarily wrong, just politically charged.

Using "leaker" means you are ignoring that what he did was to blow whistle on illegal activities and only focusing on him.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#145

Post by hirundo »

duxup wrote: post #75
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…

Trump really hasn't taken the lead in much in the way of legislative action, almost ever. I don't think he understands or has the patience for the process. Anything beyond what he can try to decree himself, he seems to lose interest / struggle with. Even tripping up his own party members in congress while they try to understand what he wants. He has threatened to veto things he pushed for... then signed them shortly…

Or he understands that in this environment, for him to flog a bill makes it less likely to become law. And that embarrassment is a political debit.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#146

Post by duxup »

hirundo wrote: post #145
duxup wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump really hasn't taken the lead in much in the way of legislative action, almost ever. I don't think he understands or has the patience for the process. Anything beyond what he can try to decree himself, he seems to lose interest / struggle with. Even tripping up his own party members in congress while they try to understand what he wants. He has threatened to veto things he pushed for... then signed them shortly…

Or he understands that in this environment, for him to flog a bill makes it less likely to become law. And that embarrassment is a political debit.

The times he has done it his own party has straight up said it isn't helpful and that he was pushing for it earlier.

There's no 3d chess going on.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#148

Post by bubersson »

HenryKissinger wrote: post #57
throwaway1777 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Leaking classified data without authorization was reckless and unlawful. There are already stringent safeguards in place to prevent abuse of the intelligence community's surveillance powers. Oversight of US surveillance programs is exercised by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The purpose of these congre…

If you read deep into the reports and leaked details, there are couple folks in NSA that happily share private/accidental webcam nudes with each others as soon as they happen to find some. In that circle that's considered a win - a masturbating woman is for extra points. The "safeguards" you mention tolerate and shush that.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#149

Post by andrei_says_ »

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.

Thank you for this.

He exposed clearly illegal activity and framing him as a leader changes the narrative.

He is a whistleblower who upheld his oath to protect the constitution of the US, in the face of severe consequences.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#150

Post by burfog »

undoware wrote: post #67
undoware wrote: post #37

[flagged]

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

Probably for this: "we skew white, male, and affluent. Those, as he sees it, are his people."

That appears to be an accusation of racism, sexism, and classism. He was in the public eye for decades, but didn't get those sorts of accusations until he dared to become involved in presidential politics.

The evidence points the other way. Just a few items, one for each accusation: He used to have a black girlfriend. He frequently put women in positions of power in his organization, and his campaign was the first successful one with a female campaign manager. When taking his wife out to eat at a fancy place, his own meal would be Diet Coke and a well-done burger with ketchup.

Fair judging standards should apply. The comment you made is clearly more applicable to the alternative: https://joebiden.info/

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