Slashdot Mirror
Snowden Reportedly In Talks To Return To US To Face Trial
HughPickens.com writes: The Globe and Mail reports that Edward Snowden's Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, says the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor is working with American and German lawyers to return home. "I won't keep it secret that he wants to return back home. And we are doing everything possible now to solve this issue. There is a group of U.S. lawyers, there is also a group of German lawyers and I'm dealing with it on the Russian side." Kucherena added that Snowden is ready to return to the States, but on the condition that he is given a guarantee of a legal and impartial trial. The lawyer said Snowden had so far only received a guarantee from the U.S. Attorney General that he will not face the death penalty. Kucherena says Snowden is able to travel outside Russia since he has a three-year Russian residency permit, but "I suspect that as soon as he leaves Russia, he will be taken to the U.S. embassy."
Really bad idea. If he was going to do this he should have never bothered leaving in the first place.
They will hang you, literally or figuratively. Build a good life in Russia, and keep speaking out.
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
Lied under oath to Congress.
No penalty for that.
...and I wouldn't trust any guarantee I received if I were in Snowden's situation. His best case scenario would be to find himself a nice country(read: not Russia) without an extradition treaty and negotiate his way there. The only way is if the president officially pardons him or he is convicted in absentia and the president commutes his sentence, but even then, they'll find something to stick on him, just like they used the IRS to take down gangsters and the mafia.
All the scum responsible for the illegal spying go on trial at the same time.
I don't see any upside in returning to America to be humiliated by the propaganda machine of the United States government with an automatic conviction. Talk about show trial. Snowden's motivations would be attacked from every angle and he would get no opportunity to tell his side or explain his motivations in court since a judge would immediately silence any testimony to that effect. A Snowden trial would set back the cause of Liberty.
I don't entirely disagree with you here. I do think he has untapped earning potential in Russia, though. If he can get a long-term work visa, there are any number of Russian (Kaspersky as an example) and overseas security consulting firms who would vanity hire him as a security auditor. He was making $200k per year as a contractor for the NSA and I expect he could fetch that or more from a company looking to raise their profile in the security industry. Heck, look at Kevin Mitnick. And that guy was a newb compared to Snowden. I expect $200k per year probably supports a more lavish lifestyle in Russia than it did when Snowden was living in Hawaii.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
On some level, I feel like Snowden has to explore the option to return, if only to make clear his long-stated desire to do so, look for avenues to negotiate, and keep his supporters engaged.
I am very doubtful, however, that he will be treated fairly given that he committed the unpardonable crime of embarrassing the U.S. government. Obama is clearly petty and pig-headed enough to resist any cries for justice. His mind is made up about a lot of things, this just being one.
If I were him, though, I'd have to be very nervous anxious about being the guest of such a calculating thug during a time of such geopolitical aggression and uncertainty. I mean Vlad could just order him killed by unknown assailants and then blame the U.S. for the purposes of some minor PR points. He's that kind of guy.
Dear Edward Snowden. There has been one person telling the truth and that has been you. You have lost pretty much everything and gained nothing. I hope the day comes when you can walk the streets of our misguided country as a free man. Thank you.
What part of "releasing classified documents" doesn't he understand? It's pretty obvious he violated US law. Fair and impartial won't change that outcome.
It did for Clapper, Alexander, Obama, Cheney, Holder, the CIA and a number of others who broke the Constitution, committed perjury before Congress, violated a number of human rights, tortured and killed people without any legal basis for it, and continued lying about it time after time.
All of those enemies of the American people and their Constitution and violators of their oath are foaming at their mouth in anticipation of casting the first stone on Snowden who got the priorities of who and what he was supposed to serve right: "classification" does not trump disclosure of crimes against the American People and Constitution.
It would be a travesty of justice (or rather it is a travesty of justice) that all those go free for their much more severe crimes while Snowden should be prosecuted for uncovering them.
As part of his re-patriation agreement, he should require cameras to be rolling throughout the entire trial with a live uncensored feed available to any organization that wants it (News organizations, EFF, ACLU, etc). If the government shuts down the cameras for any reason, then the agreement is null and void and the USA guarantees his return to Russia.
Then the american people can decide if the trial is "fair" -- if the government tries to redact all of the evidence due to national security reasons, then it's hard to see how the trial can be called "fair".
I realize that the USA will likely ignore the agreement once he's on american soil, but at least it demonstrates that the USA government can't be trusted to abide by its own agreements and it validates Snowden's reason for fleeing to Russia.
It was annouced today that former General David Patraeus (former head of the CIA, former commander of US forces in Afghanistan) has been allowed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of disclosing classified information after providing large amount of secret info to his mistress and biographer. Should Petraeus, who was motivated by vanity and sex, get a better deal than Snowden who was motivated by love of country and his own idealistic morality? I think not.
"He took a duck in the face at 250 knots." -- William Gibson, Pattern Recognition
He did not commit treason you fucking idiot. Actually read the fucking constitution which clearly defines what treason is.
Based on historic evidence, the US has absolutely zero intention of honouring a 'fair' and 'impartial' trial. Chelsea manning leaked a video of US soldiers murdering an ambulance of civillians and was gifted 35 years in prison for a largely victimless crime. KSM and about 100 other 'detainees' at guantanamo, although routinely and repeatedly insisted that they face American justice are in fact completely in limbo. the FBI has been caught spying on defense council and fabricating evidence and the US Congress, once they realized a program of torture and forced rendition would open these individuals to american courts and the possibility of acquittal immediately moved to isolate, restrict, and outlaw transport or trial of any detainee in an american court.
Civil forfeiture entirely usurps legal process in favour of a carte blanche land and property grab in the pursuit of the "war on drugs." Police are routinely found murdering people in suspicious or controversial situations only to never face trial. the financial collapse of 2008 involved some of the largest banks and securities companies committing fraud on a massive scale, and not a single arrest or trial has taken place. So please, Edward, I understand youre homesick for the first few years in a new place but you need to consider the very legitimate possibility that "american justice" is completely and utterly arbitrary and held to no reasonable, impartial international standard. it exists and functions by virtue of its own existence. Martyring yourself wont change anything, wont alter systems like foreign policy or defense at all. You wont face reason. You will be hanged, and then there will be cake and spin to continue insisting the system of american exceptionalism works.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Hold the trial in a neutral location outside the US like Switzerland. It can be based on US law, but under the control of an independent third party. Get agreement that any prison time is spent somewhere with a humane prison system, like Norway.
Snowden may be using what leverage he has left. He has not yet disclosed all the information he obtained so the US government might cut a deal to avoid further disclosures.
If you believe what Snowden has previously said then no. He has already given everything he had to foreign third parties, and he no longer controls the information. Snowden could plead with them not to reveal anything more, but it is out of his hands. That is if you believe him.
Traitor: One who commits treason
Treason: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
He didn't levy war on us, he didn't adhere to our enemies, nor did he give them comfort. There is a flimsy argument that perhaps his actions gave aid to our enemies but if you roll with that reasoning then all of the people he exposed are also traitors so I'm not sure that's an argument the government would want to make.
He may be a criminal under the current laws, but he's not a traitor. Furthermore, if what he did was illegal then it's the law that is wrong and should be changed. The correct action would be for him to receive a presidential pardon followed by congress strengthening the whistleblower laws and a big shakeup at the NSA to root out their culture of taking activities beyond what they are authorized for. I'm afraid we don't live in that rosy alternate universe however.
Whether you think Snowden is a hero or a traitor, I'd say the best political move Obama could make would be to pardon Snowden for any crimes he is accused of committing to date.
It would effectively silence Snowden as he could come home with the pardon in his pocket, assuming he keeps his mouth shut forever after. If Snowden continued leaks, then Snowden would be easy to turn into the bad guy
It would avoid a public trial (which would be awkward, assuming the government would even grant one).
It would avoid accusations of injustice (in case the trial was a secret one in Gitmo, or an unfortunate 'accident' occurred on his flight home).
Obama should do this after the 2016 election before he leaves office, as the hubbub will settle out and be forgotten by the 2018 midterm election. It would not satisfy Snowden's supporters (who think he should get a ticker tape parade) or his detractors (who think he should be imprisoned forever), but it would effectively halt the leaks and put the problem to bed with a minimum of fuss.
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!