Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

US Charges Edward Snowden With Espionage

Posted by timothy on from the hey-the-paperwork-takes-a-few-weeks dept.

cold fjord writes "Further developments in the controversy engulfing Edward Snowden and the NSA. From the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs, and the United States has asked Hong Kong to detain him on a provisional arrest warrant,... Snowden was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property ... The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, a jurisdiction where Snowden's former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, and a district with a long track record in prosecuting cases with national security implications...it is thought that he is still in the Chinese territory. Hong Kong has its own legislative and legal systems but ultimately answers to Beijing, under the so-called "one country, two systems" arrangement. The leaks have sparked national and international debates about the secret powers of the NSA to infringe on the privacy of both Americans and foreigners. Officials from President Obama down have said they welcomed the opportunity to explain the importance of the programs, and the safeguards they say are built into them. Skeptics, including some in Congress, have said the NSA has assumed power to soak up data about Americans that were never intended under the law."""

21 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. Didn't need to be the NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To know that's what was going to happen.

    1. Re:Didn't need to be the NSA by Luckyo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And it's okay, because many foreigners are equally indifferent to your rights as well.

      Which leads to the current situation, where NSA outsources spying on you to foreign entities, who in turn outsource spying on their citizens to NSA. Result: you have NSA have all the spy data on yourself, through this outsourcing. It's awesome just how your selfish assholery comes and bites you square in your face. And you still remain ignorant of it.

    2. Re:Didn't need to be the NSA by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 5, Insightful

      you know, I'm really upset and concerned about spying on me because I feel it violates my 4th amendment rights and is a slippery slope, but I'm relatively indifferent to spying on foreigners. Isn't that the point of the CIA/NSA anyway?

      Yes it is. That is their whole point, and it should be only the whole.

      I'm from Ireland, so it's actually OK for the NSA to spy on me and my communications. Americans should actually expect that the NSA is up to this and indeed a few shady activities abroad. That is what a spy agency is for, and should be paid for,

      However, a spy agency is not for spying on domestic citizens. The NSA and CIA are absolutely not supposed to monitor domestic US citizens. That is not what they are for, or what they should be paid for.

      This isn't very complicated. The NSA is an intelligence weapon, and can be compared to a missile or bomber. Americans might argue about targets, but most will agree that the US should have missiles and bombers and should use them abroad when nessessary. Most Americans would be outraged to discover that those missiles were being used at home on US citizens, and should be equally outraged that the NSA is being used at home as well.

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
  2. Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I thought that only those with something to hide needed privacy?

    1. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by zlives · · Score: 5, Insightful

      its to protect the innocent secret government programs that might become victims of false accusations.

    2. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I thought that only those with something to hide needed privacy?

      Because:
      Officials from President Obama down have said they welcomed the opportunity to explain the importance of the programs

      Oh wait....

    3. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because:
      Officials from President Obama down have said they welcomed the opportunity to explain the importance of the programs...

      But only to secret judges on secret courts.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    4. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by MrEricSir · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I thought that only those with something to hide needed privacy?

      You mean like the Orwellian surveillance program the government has been hiding?

      --
      There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    5. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Obama Obama Obama. Enough with this partisan nonsense. Watch the documentary 'Enemy of the State', what 16 years old now or more, this surveillance is nothing new. You don't get to call yourselves the land of the free when you're being monitored around the clock in case you might say or do something upsetting to your betters. And no I don't care if terrorists are the excuse, if you're going to put the USA on a pedestal, hold yourselves to a higher standard than totalitarians.

    6. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by SJHiIlman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is almost certainly classified information to protect in the case.

      I don't think that's the point. The point is that a number of people (not pointing at anyone in particular) have said something along the lines of, "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." These same people would probably argue that while the government is trying to hide something here, that hiding things isn't necessarily bad, which is inconsistent.

    7. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Obama Obama Obama. Enough with this partisan nonsense. Watch the documentary 'Enemy of the State', what 16 years old now or more, this surveillance is nothing new. You don't get to call yourselves the land of the free when you're being monitored around the clock in case you might say or do something upsetting to your betters. And no I don't care if terrorists are the excuse, if you're going to put the USA on a pedestal, hold yourselves to a higher standard than totalitarians.

      I think the Obama bashing is coming out because Obama said he was going to bring about change that America needs and he even spoke out specifically against secret spying on citizens. No one (well few) think that a Republican in the Whitehouse would be any better since nearly all of the opposition against the Patriot Act renewals has come from the democrats.

      http://www.cfr.org/us-election-2008/obamas-speech-woodrow-wilson-center/p13974

      That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists. The FISA court works. The separation of powers works. Our Constitution
      works. We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary.

      This Administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not. There are no short-cuts to protecting America, and that is why the fifth part of my strategy is doing the hard and patient work to secure a more resilient homeland.

      Yet not only is he aware of the secret spying programs, he is actively defending them.

    8. Re:Why is it a sealed criminal complaint? by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Under questioning, Joyce said the NSA was able to identify an extremist in Yemen who was in touch with an individual in Kansas City, Mo. They were able to identify co-conspirators and thwart a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

      Furthermore, this story has already been discredited. There was no plan. The "extremist" asked for a document about the NYSE, got a one-page brief that he discarded and dropped any further plans. The intelligence that the NSA got had no impact on the outcome.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  3. Re:Should Have be Charged With Treason by Rene+S.+Hollan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If Obama's arming of al-Qaeda friendly rebels in Syria isn't "adhering to their enemies, giving them aid...", I don't know what is.

    --
    In Liberty, Rene
  4. Re:Should Have be Charged With Treason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Only if you consider American citizens enemies of the American government.

  5. Petition to pardon Snowden by Todd+Palin · · Score: 5, Informative

    FYI, the petition to pardon Snowden is just a few thousand short of the 100,000 mark as of midday on Friday. There is still time to sign. Probably a waste of time, but it might be worth it. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/Dp03vGYD

    1. Re:Petition to pardon Snowden by amiga3D · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's not the petition to pardon Snowden, that's the volunteer list for hidden cameras in your dwelling.

  6. Re:Should Have be Charged With Treason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Snowden swore an oath when he took his security clearance. It is essentially the same one sworn by soldiers.

    The first thing he does is swear to protect the constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic. And finally to follow the orders of his chain of command and perform the duties of his position.

    Snowden was put in a position where following the last part of the oath would violate the first part, and following the first part would violate the last part.

    And he chose his duty to the constitution and the citizens it protects over the dictates of his chain of command. And that makes him a hero.

  7. Double standards by damicatz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Obama has openly admitting to planning to arm Al-Queda associated rebels in Syria. That is the DEFINITION of treason. Edward Snowden has not given anyone weapons. He has merely aired Obama's dirty laundry. If this country was run by the people rather than a bunch of plutocrats, Obama, Bush, Cheney, et. al would be on trial for crimes against humanity.

    How people voted for this guy is beyond me. I knew Obama was a liar from day one. Democrats and republicans work for the same causes and the same people; any perceived differences are merely staged for the benefit of the American voters and never go deeper than the surface. It is classic divide and conquer and the end result is that this country is effectively run by a two-party dictatorship that stays in power by manipulating and rigging the elections to exclude competition and creating staged conflicts on trivial issues like gay marriage (which *IS* a trivial issue compared to the fact that this country is descending into a police state). When it comes to the things that matter, both parties act in lockstep and it is NOT to the benefit of the American people or to the cause of freedom. The only people the Republicrat party answers to is their corporate masters.

  8. In the empire... by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In the empire of lies, truth is treason.
    -Ron Paul

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  9. Re:Should Have be Charged With Treason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He exposed crimes against the American people perpetrated by the US government. He is the exact opposite of a traitor.

  10. Lesson to be learned by EmagGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Report a crime, go to jail.