Agreed, he’s living with the results. But:
Leaking to a non-debriefed Senator would provide a level of cut-out that would have made him less likely to get caught. There are other ways he could have reduced his risk… and his personal visibility. That’s where I think his judgement stunk; I think he had too much ego invested. Of course this is all interpretation from many miles away and Nth-hand reports, so your reading may vary.
Again, though: Anyone who knows what the NSA does could pretty much have predicted that this approach would at least be one they were researching; anyone who considers the current state of enhanced paranoia could have taken it the next step to guess that they’d go live with it at the soonest opportunity. The confirmation and detail is interesting but – in my judgement – not worth the risks he took, especially the greater risks involved in how he did it.
So, again: Yes, he’s living with the results. But I don’t feel an excessive amount of sympathy for him. Some, certainly. Not enough that I would suggest the jury or judge go overly easy on him if he comes within reach of US law again. I wouldn’t suggest throwing the book at him, but I also wouldn’t let him off with a wrist slap.
