POLITICO: …. The paper’s editorial board waded into the traitor-vs.-hero debate with a piece titled “Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower” out Thursday, writing that although Snowden may have broken the law when he stole and revealed details about the NSA’s surveillance tactics, he provided an important service in exposing the tactics.
“He may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service,” the Times board wrote. “It is time for the United States to offer Mr. Snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home, face at least substantially reduced punishment in light of his role as a whistle-blower, and have the hope of a life advocating for greater privacy and far stronger oversight of the runaway intelligence community.”
The Times also took issue with a past statement from Obama that Snowden should have used other avenues afforded to whistleblowers to air his concerns with the NSA program, saying that Obama’s whistleblower protections didn’t apply to contractors like Snowden and saying his superiors ignored him when he did raise concerns to them… (more)
