To answer that question, one has to ask . . . does ends justify the means?
Q tells us, he was a CIA operative trying to undermine the NSA to weaken the NSA to give CIA more control. Hmmmm.
What we don't know
Did Snowden share this information with other governments? He says No.
Do you believe him?
Am thinking he or someone gave it to China. Q question . . . Why was he in Hong Kong?
Thing is . . . what we are learning today, Snowden was trying to warn us in 2013
There was an article in Jan that Q pointed out. It claimed that the Soviets had accomplished the biggest breakin of data from the NSA since Snowden. Me? That whole article was BS. No foreign entity stole anything, rather its purpose as Q was pointing out . . . Was a warning to all blackhats, that the CIA could no longer protect them.
So is Snowden a traitor or patriot?
Definitely for sure . . . maybe!
Right now Snowden has run out of friends and he is just trying to save his life. He's made all the money he can from who knows who and the best he can do is make a deal with the good guys to stay out of prison and maybe land in witsec somewhere spending his illgotten gains he probably has stashed all over the planet. At least that's what I'd be doing.