Is Snowden a Hero or Traitor? Democrats Debate Whether NSA Whistleblower

Democratic candidates found plenty to agree on during their first debate Tuesday night. Chafee replied that he would bring Snowden home without forcing him to serve any jail time. The courts have ruled that what he did-what he did was say the American…

There is a consensus among all the major politicians running for president in America, regardless of their party: Edward Snowden, they all say, deserves to face federal prosecutors for illegally leaking vast troves detailed information about government surveillance programs to the press. This has been articulated by other NSA whistleblowers, see also from USA Today: “Three NSA veterans speak out on whistle-blower: We told you so”. He now works at an Apple store outside of Washington, D.C. Admittedly, the law is fairly complicated, but as Politifact pointed out in January 2014, when the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald said that Snowden did not have any whistleblower protections under the Espionage Act, his claim was “mostly true”.

But perhaps more importantly, Clinton made the assertion that Snowden could have had just as much of an impact on the surveillance debate had he raised his issues with the NSA through the proper whistleblowing channels. He stole very important information that has fallen into the wrong hands. “I don’t think he should be brought home without facing the music”.

She said Snowden should return to the United States and “face the music”.

However, it did seem like the former Secretary of State was merely aligning herself with the White House’s statement in July, which outlined other options Snowden had at his disposal, and reminded him he should accept the consequences of his actions. “Snowden broke the law”, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said. The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, which provided legal immunity to government employers who reveal lawbreaking, malfeasance, or abuse of authority, doesn’t apply to employees of the intelligence agencies, including contractors like Snowden. “If he really believes that, he should be back here”, O’Malley said.

COOPER: Bring him home, no jail time? Snowden’s journey was like “GoldenEye” meets “Tomorrow Never Dies”. But I think what he did in educating us should be taken into consideration before he is [inaudible]. I think the government is involved in our e-mails, is involved in our websites. Exposing government dysfunction is basically the platform he is running on.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said that Snowden broke the law and “there should be a penalty for that”, but took a much more generous view of what Snowden did and said the benefits of his actions should be taken into account before any sanctions are handed down. That’s why his story is interesting. We have a serious problem in terms of the collection of personal information in this country. And they need to be destroyed. I think the government is involved in our e-mails; is involved in our websites.

However, Webb separated himself by hitting on actual legislation he was a part of. But he gave a strong response here, and stood out throughout the night.