Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

311–320 of 404 posts

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#311

Post by Jordrok »

propogandist wrote: post #111
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.

they've intentionally selected the word due to it's negative context. The usage of "leaker" allows them to play to the 'orange man bad' narrative, which they value more than getting Snowden pardoned.

Quite the apt username you've got there. eye roll

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#312

Post by cryptonector »

krick wrote: post #262

I agree with all these "wake me up when it happens" poster, because I just generally don't like "nothing happened" news. But seriously, say Trump (or whoever might have been in his place) actually wants to do this as a populistic move: is it hard to do? Does it require any bureaucratic bullshit, arguing with people, forcing stuff, or is it just some paper to sign and it's done? Does it require any effort (and how muc…

If you'd been paying attention you'd know that the President has the absolute, unquestionable power to pardon offenses against the United States, which specifically means: offences under Federal law, but not offenses under State law.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#313

Post by ttyprintk »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #17
djtriptych wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad Edward Snowden leaked what he did, but I'm not sure a pardon makes any sense at all.

I think it’s unlikely Snowden would ever receive a fair trial, therefore a pardon is the best course of action, erring on the side of compassion versus “justice” typically dispensed by the US justice system. What he revealed about the domestic surveillance apparatus violating US law and citizens’ rights had significant value to nation. Regardless, if this is how the pardon comes about, I happily support it even if it…

> What he revealed about the domestic surveillance apparatus violating US law and citizens’ rights had significant value to nation.

That would be only one of the charges. And a reasonable Snowden defence would be to recite the oath he swore to the Constitution. If this were the only charge, I don't rule out a fair trial.

But the second charge would be revealing NSA programs operating outside inside USA borders. This was the reason Obama didn't want to write a pardon, and the reason Pompeo sides with executing Snowden. The accusation that Snowden was working for a foreign intelligence agency hinges on two questions: why did he reveal those overseas programs, and how did he get onto (or know to get onto) Aeroflot without a passport.

This is why he can be simultaneously a patriot and traitor. Trump (or his predecessor) could have written a pardon the first charge and deliberately left out the second. Whether Snowden would want to take his chances with a trial on the second charge would be a tough choice.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#314

Post by austhrow743 »

mhh__ wrote: post #222
austhrow743 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, the most important one. Hasn't invaded any new countries.

He's done his fair bit of missile-ing and bombing. One also wonders why his silence on the Russian contract killing is so deafening...

We are talking about a US President here. You can only expect so much. Missiling and bombing other countries might as well be mandated by their constitution.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#315

Post by ttyprintk »

SmokeyHamster wrote: post #224
eagsalazar2 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is interesting, your comment is completely insane to me. Doesn't that seem strange to you too?

It's insane to vote for someone who does things you support? To someone with full blown TDS, sure, a Snowden pardon probably won't sway your opinion at all. But think of someone who leans libertarian and maybe doesn't love Trump but also doesn't hate him, and remembers how the Obama admin forced Snowden to flee and revoked his passport, forcing him to stay in Russia. Seeing a pardon from Trump could move them into be…

I wonder though, since Trump signed the extension to warrentless wiretapping, would your vote send a message that a pardon for Snowden is sufficient without institutional change? Trump seemed to only care that section 702 allowed Carter Page to be wiretapped when the other side of the conversation was out of the country.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#316

Post by 8note »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #182
smt88 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

President is not responsible for pathetic Healthcare in California and New York. I'm always amazed how every single failure of the Democratic state apparatus is blamed on the President. Same deal with police brutality.

I'd say he had 3 years to get good healthcare in and spent that time golfing instead?

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#317

Post by pstuart »

refurb wrote: post #187
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…

Trump really hasn't taken the lead in much in the way of legislative action, almost ever. First major tax reform in decades?

Was it tax reform or was it tax cuts?

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#319

Post by lern_too_spel »

dragonwriter wrote: post #198
lern_too_spel wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people believed Snowden's gross misreading of the documents he leaked, and that misreading paints a picture of deep state intelligence agencies run amok illegally spying on Americans. Of course, any literate person who reads the documents understands they don't support that picture, but there are enough barely literate QAnon believers to support an entire industry.

> A lot of people believed Snowden's gross misreading of the documents he leaked, and that misreading paints a picture of deep state intelligence agencies run amok illegally spying on Americans. Of course, any literate person who reads the documents understands they don't support that picture On the other hand, the intelligence community IG report mandated by the FISA Amendments Act that leaked and was published just…

> On the other hand, the intelligence community IG report mandated by the FISA Amendments Act that leaked and was published just after, and almost certainly because of, the publication of the Snowden leaks did paint such a picture.

In what way does it show the NSA having access to everybody's communications as Snowden alleged? Your comment is full of underspecified insinuations with no concrete facts to back them up.

Re: Trump says he is considering pardon for Edward Snowden

#320

Post by mindcrime »

cryptonector wrote: post #305
mindcrime wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you say is true. And all I'm saying in turn is that Trump strikes me as being unusually insincere, even for a politician, in terms of the things he talks up and then never throws any meaningful support behind. Yes, all politicians pander, but I think this particular politician has made it an art form like few others.

Did you really think you were going to get carry reciprocity anytime soon? Could you not see then, and now, that that will require sizeable Republican majorities in the House and Senate, and that there was no way for Trump to move the needle on that issue all by himself, especially after the midterms? Carry reciprocity is kind of a niche issue, lacks enough popularity, and is hard to make more popular. Well, maybe no…

Did you really think you were going to get carry reciprocity anytime soon?

No, and that was just an example to illustrate a point.

So if this is your one issue,

It's not. You're reading WAY too much into that. It was just an example, and it was the first one that jumped to mind.

Post reply on HN