So, he wonât, then.
How magnanimous of the AG. /s
Yeah, Iâm not expecting Snowdenâs repatriation anytime soon.
I donât like the Espionage Act either, but an âancientâ law doesnât always equate a âbadâ law. The laws against murder have been on the books even longer.
Look, if youâre poor enough to get murdalized, the gene pool is well rid of ye.
Murder, or petty treason?
I find it very interesting when people throw themselves willingly at the mercy of a system that is built around the concept of punishing you severely if it thinks you have done wrong.
An inflated sense of âI deserve Justice!â is a powerful feeling for anyone, but Snowden has to know that even being white, famous and able to snag decent council is hardly going to matter: the system, above all else HATES being embarrassed.
If he stands trial, he will be excoriated. He will be discredited by all means fair and foul. He will be, at the least, imprisoned forâŚas long as the State sees fit.
Donât do it dude.
Facing trial would be a huge gamble for sure, but it canât be easy for someone who fought for transparency and accountability in his own country to be exiled to a place that has far less of those things. If the U.S. governmentâs actions sickened Snowden then imagine how he must feel about the prospect of living out his days under a regime that regularly targets political dissidents with assassination.
I get the impression that even people like Philby, Burgess (particularly) and Maclean didnât like living in the Soviet Union much. I imagine itâs awful for someone like Snowden.
Maybe heâll get a Petraeus Deal.
Itâs a trap!
See, e.g., John Kiriakou.
Snowden has been scapegoated, and is being used as a scapegoat, currently. There is no justice for a scapegoat. He has to wait out for a major societal change.
Pretty much like running up a credit card in an innocent personâs name, and insisting they did it, with their friends agreeing the innocent person did it. But, outsiders would insist that not only did they run up the bill and not the innocent party, but that they are adding to that damage done by scapegoating the innocent person.
Eventually the guilty parties will have to pay up, but Snowden did nothing wrong, so for him to face a trial would only exacerbate the issue.
I really hope he is simply saying such a thing because of questions he is receiving, and is not longing to return on his own.
True, though the ancient murder laws typically demanded death for the crime, whereas these days criminals can be incarcerated for life and so not have to rely on the barbaric death penalty.
âAncientâ is an okay describer of barbaric laws, because people were excessively barbaric during the times when ancient laws were created and this is reflected in a very large body of the laws. This is obviously the case even with Mosaic Law.
This law, however, was created during a tyrannical time when tyrannical actions were taken by the Administration, and this was one of them. Especially in how it was applied at the time.
Wonât happen as long as our government is influenced by multi-national corporations (and others) who want to stay in control.
You realize that the Soviet Union hasnât existed for more than two decades, right?
Yeah, but if Iâd have said Russia some different smart arse would have come and pointed out that the Cambridge spies defected to the Soviet Union. You pays your money, you takes your choice.
Prosecutors seem especially lenient these days; maybe Mr. Snowden can get some of that.
âMr. Petraeus has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, a misdemeanor. He is eligible for up to one year in prison but prosecutors will recommend a sentence of probation for two years and a $40,000 fine.â
The man would have to be some kind of stupid to set foot on American soil. Heâd spend the rest of his life in a little cement box down at the back of the solitary wing.
In Soviet Russia - choice pays you money!
But he is certainly guaranteed a fair trial by the US Constitution. The problem is enforcing the guarantee.
