Posted on 09/05/2020 4:10:36 PM PDT by RandFan
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida became the latest Republican congressman Thursday to recommend President Trump pardon former U.S. intelligence contractor and leaker Edward J. Snowden.
Mr. Gaetz, one of Mr. Trump’s staunchest defenders in Congress, suggested on Twitter that the president intervene and end the government’s case against the wanted secret-spiller.
“Edward @Snowden deserves a pardon from President @realDonaldTrump,” Mr. Gaetz said on Twitter in a post tagging each of their accounts on the social media service.
Mr. Snowden quickly shared the congressman’s suggestion with his own 4.3 million Twitter followers, while neither Mr. Trump nor the White House offered any immediate public reaction.
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, indicated he agreed with Mr. Gaetz, meanwhile. “Matt is right,” the senator tweeted later Thursday in support of pardoning Mr. Snowden.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
How can you charge Snowden with espionage when the NSA was committing a crime too?
I had mixed feelings about Snowden when his story first broke, but have grown increasingly supportive of what he did and the risks he took.
Process crime. It wasn't his role to leak at the time.
Or, at least, that's the tune that will be played.
Personally, I've vacillated between thinking he's a hero and a near-traitor, leaning more in his favor over time. But, like most retail customers, my information stream is scanty and unreliable.
The problem is he can’t defend himself properly under the espionage law which is why he won’t stand trial...
It’s like spaghetti, but I say NO.
Can we split the difference? Charge him with something he did, and make the sentence time served?
I say YES the NSA, CIA, and FBI have been up to NO GOOD forever they are operating illegally YET Snowden a whistleblower is in trouble?? Far cry from the SO CALLED whistleblower about the Ukraine phone call who was PROTECTED under ALL circumstances!! I would have said NO WAY 5 years ago HOWEVER knowing what I know now about our WEAPONIZED government Snowden should be pardoned why in the hell should he be punished when people like Brennon, Comey, Clapper, Strozk, Page ALL walk free??
Same here....owever I say that still with one eye open. Not so sure he’s necessarily a patriot or would be loyal to our country after this.
The NSA, FBI, CIA, State Department, etc., etc.
Had their not been illegal spying on Americans, there would be no reason
for Snowden to leak..
Snowden leaked things unrelated to domestic surveillance. He did not follow whistle-blower protocols that were in place. He was disgruntled and reckless. I don’t feel that should ever be rewarded. We can’t have people acting on their own with national security secrets. Snowden inspired dangerous nutjobs like Reality Winner.
I think there needs to be more of an investigation.Stone may have been a whistleblower, or we may have been a Russian spy or asset.
If Snowden truly is a whistleblower, he’s pretty stupid. If you’re going to break a US law and have to spend it in another country you don’t want to end up in Russia. When you rather end up in Brazil or somewhere?
And Ciarmella and Vindman did?
He was enraged by Clapper lying to Congress .
Let Snowden stay in Russia. He doesn’t, as a consultant, unilaterally get to determine what top secret info to release to the world. He needs to be charged criminally and if he has a legitimate defense, he will be acquitted. If not, he needs to be punished with a jail term. Sorry, but he is no hero in my book, particularly when he flees to an enemy country like Russia
Russia is one of the few places he could claim political asylum and would not extradite him back
Exactly !
The Chinese & the Russians didn’t just give him a free vacation. He paid them!
He actually WAS trying to get to South America. The U.S. put tremendous financial pressure on those governments to deny his request for asylum. Russia didn’t give a sh!t about the U.S. government and granted him entry and temporary asylum.
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