The Audacity Of Kerry Telling Snowden To "Man Up" And Turn Himself In
You may not agree that Snowden did the right thing, but here's a guy who put his principles before his personal welfare. "Man up"? He did, and then some, and then some. Law prof Jonathan Turley has a good analysis:
The ruling class in Washington finds Snowden perfectly incomprehensible. Every aspects of our political system has long been tied down and controlled by the two parties. For such leaders, someone like Snowden is nothing short of an alien visitation -- someone who throws away his career and possible freedom for what he claims to be principle. To make matters worse, Snowden is viewed as a whistleblower, if not a hero, by many in the United States and around the world....Like Clinton, Kerry cannot imagine why Snowden would not trust the system: "If he cares so much about America and he believes in America, he should trust the American system of justice."
As someone who has held top clearances since the Reagan administration, I do not support the release of classified information. However, as someone who has litigated national security cases from terrorism to espionage cases, there is every reason for Snowden to be leery of our system as it currently stands in the post 9-11 world. I have great faith and love for our legal system, but national security law has become increasingly draconian and outcome determinative due to various changes in the last decade. This Administration has continued to use of secret legal opinions and secret evidence in cases. The agencies continue to classify information to prevent the public or defendants from reviewing potentially embarrassing or conflicting material. President Obama has refused to close tribunal proceedings and maintains the same claim of his inherent authority to decide whether people go to real courts or the widely ridiculed tribunal proceedings. Even if in the federal system, the government would hit Snowden with SAMs to cut off any contact and impose limitations on even his cleared counsel in speaking with him. At trial, federal judges are increasingly barring arguments from defendants as "immaterial" even when those arguments are the real reason for their actions.
Thus, the Justice Department would likely move to exclude arguments that disclosure was necessary because Snowden had no real alternative for reform. He might be even prevented from arguing that he was seeking to protect citizens from the systemic and comprehensive denial of privacy. Even if some of that motivational argument were allowed, it would likely trigger an instruction that that is no defense to the charges. Sentencing enhancements routinely used by the Justice Department would guarantee a life sentence if convicted for Snowden.
As for utilizing the system to make these disclosures before he fled, Snowden had little reason to trust the congressional oversight committees or the agencies themselves. Just for the record, as many of you know, I represented the prior whistleblower who first revealed this program years before Snowden. He tried to use the system. Happily he was not charged and is doing well. However, as I have testified in Congress, the whistleblower system referred to by Clinton is a colossal joke. First, as Clinton must know (but did not mention), there are exceptions under the whistleblower laws for national security information. Second, the House and Senate oversight committees are viewed as the place that whistleblowers go to get arrested. There is a revolving door of staff back and forth to the intelligence agencies and people like Dianne Feinstein have denounced Snowden as a traitor. While one can still criticize Snowden for breaking classification laws, the suggestion that he could have used the whistleblower system is hardly self-evident if you are familiar with the laws or the history of such cases.
John Kerry was against the war in Vietnam, then voted for the Iraq invasion, but when nominated to run against Bush decried the war. He is a model of inconsistency. Among other things.
Peter M at May 29, 2014 8:25 AM
If Snowden is located, he will be arrested and imprisoned, end of story. Any charges will simply be window dressing.
Radwaste at May 29, 2014 8:44 AM
John F. Kerry, a French-looking fellow who served in Vietnam and has it seared into his memory how they ventured illegally into Cambodia.
I R A Darth Aggie at May 29, 2014 12:54 PM
The same guy who married billions and moored his yacht in another state to evade taxes while serving as their Senator. Does this clown understand he has no moral standing whatsoever?
MarkD at May 29, 2014 1:12 PM
There's clearly a lot more to Snowden's story than shows up in the mainstream media.
One commentator at SOTT.net offers that Snowden is merely a football in a turf war between the CIA and the NSA. That makes more sense to me than anything.
jefe at May 29, 2014 1:25 PM
I find is so intimidating when John Kerry wags his finger at me. I bet Putin does too.
Isab at May 29, 2014 2:02 PM
I love this blog post; I love these comments.
☑
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at May 29, 2014 2:41 PM
Balko.
I regard all "face the music types" as willfully naive. No one who wants to believe in their government that badly should ever be trusted with the keys to your car or privacy with your daughter. It's personal.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at May 29, 2014 8:59 PM
Snowden has put me in an odd place. The main thing is that he blew the lid off NSA spying on Americans. #approve
However -
The valor of a whistle-blower, what makes them a "hero," is that they STAND for something more important than themselves. Flinging a bunch of evidence around the room and then running off to hide with the Rooskies is NOT an act of valor. The guys no hero.
On the third hand, if the NSA hated me THAT much, I'd stay out of their jurisdiction, too.
Lamont Cranston at May 30, 2014 7:04 AM
So, the guy who used three meaningless Purple Hearts to get away from combat duty, who parked his yacht in Rhode Island to avoid Massachusetts taxes, who threw another guy's medals over the White House fence to display his own contempt for the war in Vietnam and afterward ran for president on that his service in that war, and who made up stories slandering US soldiers is urging the guy who blew the whistle on actual US government spying and hid out in Russia to "man up" and go to prison.
Okay. Got it.
Conan the Grammarian at May 30, 2014 8:36 AM
Another view on Snowden - hipster narcissist.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/379094/edward-snowden-hipster-whistleblower-christine-sisto
Conan the Grammarian at May 30, 2014 10:08 AM
Conan's view is more how I see Snowden -- a publicity whore. We are being told at work that he has a bunch of info relating to how the U.S. military defends its own networks, and they think he has already leaked some to Russia and has more, and some people here are very worried.
However, I will not dispute that he will have a very hard time getting a fair trial in the U.S., so I don't much blame him for wanting to come back. I do wonder if he realizes who and what he's messing with by making common cause with Putin's mob. Evidently they think he still have more information to reveal, as evidenced by the fact that he's still alive. Once they figure he's tapped out, they'll take care of that.
And yeah, John Kerry is a blowhard. Probably one of the stupidist people ever to serve in a Cabinet-level position. Guy is as dumb as a box of rocks. As was the case of Chuck Hagel's nomination to SecDef, Kerry's nomination to SecState was, as someone said, "non-serious", a way of the White House telling State, "We don't give a flying fig about you."
Cousin Dave at May 30, 2014 10:17 AM
"However, I will not dispute that he will have a very hard time getting a fair trial in the U.S., so I don't much blame him for wanting to come back. I do wonder if he realizes who and what he's messing with by making common cause with Putin's mob."
Sometimes you end up between the rock, and the proverbial hard spot.
Logistics wise, Russia may have been his only feasible choice.
I think Putin will keep him around for at least a few more years. His usefulness is as a thumb in Obama's eye.
Unlike others, I don't really care what his motives were. Just tired of judging what people do, by the old kindergarten adage "he meant well"
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
On Kerry, you are spot on. High room temperature IQ, and a piss poor education to match.
Isab at May 30, 2014 12:35 PM
Russia wanst where he wanted to be, his passport was rescinded and he got stuck once no other country would take him in.
lujlp at May 30, 2014 3:40 PM
Oh, so Putin's bitch is trying to worm his way back into the news? I'd sooner watch a news report about another Britney Spears meltdown.
Patrick at May 31, 2014 1:14 AM
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