Snowden wants to return according to his attorney

SGT Jim Z. — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:38:52 -0500

According to Edward Snowden's attorney shan-gri-la in Russia is not all that is crack up to be and he want to return. Personally the only way I would allow this POS back into the country is in handcuff and shackles to be tried for treason.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/lawyer-nsa-leaker-edward-snowden-wants-to-return-home/ar-BBic5cx?ocid=iehp

Lawyer: NSA leaker Edward Snowden wants to return home

MOSCOW — A Russian lawyer for former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden says he wants to return to the United States if he's guaranteed a fair trial.Anatoly Kucherena said at a news conference Tuesday that he has teamed up with U.S. and German lawyers to work on the issue, but gave no further details.Snowden was stranded in a Moscow airport in 2013 on his way from Hong Kong to Cuba, shortly after he released extensive documentation about...

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Mar 3 at 2015 7:41 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:41:03 -0500

Sure, why not? Then a quick trial and a short trip to the tree behind the courthouse!

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Mar 3 at 2015 7:44 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:44:54 -0500

Sorry no room for traitors.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 3 at 2015 7:47 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:47:30 -0500

If the Justice Dept. goes after Treason, he'll walk. If they go after theft of classified material, he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars.

A fair trial is easy to get.

Manning got a fair trial, and is sitting in jail right now.

Snowden doesn't want a "fair trial," he wants to walk away without paying the consequences for his actions, regardless of how altruistic they were.

He's not a traitor, not by the Constitutional definition, but he is a #$%^# coward. He ran from the consequences of his actions, and that's just as bad. Screw him. He can live in exile, or he can live in prison. That's his choices.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Mar 3 at 2015 10:46 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 22:46:18 -0500

Snowden's concerns about receiving a "fair trial" are reasonable. Daniel Elsberg didn't.

I was responsible for safeguarding a lot of highly classified materials when the Pentagon Papers were leaked and was looking forward to the trial. I agreed with Elsberg that too much was being classified for political reasons thus abusing the whole system of classified documents. Thus, we spent so much time protecting trivial stuff that real secrets couldn't receive the attention they deserved. It also made people lax in handling classified materials.

Sadly, there was prosecutorial abuse and charges were dropped against Elsberg. I have often thought that it was an intentional "slip up" so that the government wouldn't have to defend the misuse of classifying information.

I suspect that the same may be true in the case of Snowden.

To be fair, Elsberg stayed to face the music, unlike Snowden who took off.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Mar 4 at 2015 6:28 PM

CPT Zachary Brooks — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 18:28:58 -0500

I know that Snowden went the wrong route, but he did bring to light some interesting and important points. I had read that he attempted to go through the proper channels to report the abuse, but was balked. I also remember this:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/426/increase-protections-for-whistleblowers/

Which was apparently voided upon his leaks.

How Snowden did this was wrong, why he did it I am not so sure.

Increase protections for whistleblowers

"Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government."

Response by MSG Mitch Dowler made Mar 4 at 2015 6:34 PM

MSG Mitch Dowler — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 18:34:45 -0500

The current president is guilty of treason. His primary duty is to protect the rights of Citizens and instead of performing that duty he has violated our civil rights and treated us as subjects. The president is elected to be a servant not a dictator.

Response by PO1 Timothy Miller made Mar 11 at 2015 7:01 PM

PO1 Timothy Miller — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 19:01:56 -0400

This is a topic that I have responded to in many forums over the years that Snowden has been on the run from U.S. authorities. I like many have a low opinion of Snowden but I will not go into that here. Sufficed to say with the evidence against him his trial should be speedy but it will drag on for months, possibly years, due to the legal ranglings that are bound to happen. With the notoriety that this case has garnered, I am reasonably sure that jury selection is going to be a long and arduous process to get a panel that will give him a chance to speak his peace but I am pretty sure of the outcome. As to whether he will make a deal, you can be sure that he will do everything he can to not die by lethal injection or some other form of death sentence. I like a lot of others will be watching this with interest.