Edward Snowden, 29, is now a hunted man. The media this morning has moved from the shock over the massive surveillance of citizens to attacking Snowden as a leaker. Indeed, this morning, CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin denounced Snowden as a “clown” and someone who should be denounced. Toobin and I have been disagreeing a great deal lately. While I respect Jeff Toobin, I was surprised last week when he defended aspects of the investigation of journalists and later the massive surveillance programs. However, I was taken aback by the attack on Snowden. There certainly is a basis for criminal investigation — a point no one denies. He will have to answer for any violation of his clearance agreement and national security laws. However, it is the tenor and shift of the comments this morning that so surprised me. Rather than continue the debate of the loss of privacy, political and media figures are focusing on Snowden rather than the programs. You can disagree with his methods just as you can disagree with Julian Assange. However, there is an obvious effort to (like Assange) make him look unbalanced and dangerous. The story appears more complex. This is a man who gave up a $200,000 a year job and his likely freedom to reveal something that he felt the public should know about in the interest of privacy. You can disagree with his method, but few of his critics would even consider such a sacrifice for principle. Yet, the coverage this morning is largely on how to catch him and punish him. Over the weekend, the White House said it would find the person responsible and punish him. Snowden then self-disclosed his identity.
Ironically, President Barack Obama told the public that he was happy that we could have this debate over the balancing of privacy and security. However, he wants the person responsible for that debate to be prosecuted. Without Snowden, the program would have remained secret and no debate would likely have occurred. While aspects of these programs were previously discussed in 2006, this was the first confirmation of the programs from the government.
U.S. Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, called Snowden “a defector” and said “this person is dangerous to the country.” That is the new spin: the “high school dropout” and “clown” who fled to Hong Kong. Indeed, many news outlets are focusing on the fact that he allegedly had a $300 night hotel in Hong Kong before checking out. (Anyone who has traveled to Hong Kong will tell you that this expense for a room is not uncommon and it is certainly not “one of the priciest” rooms for the city). Much of the focus will be on Snowden and his case as opposed to the massive surveillance program. Many believe, like Snowden, that the greater danger to the country is the loss of privacy — as discussed in my column today in USA Today. What is clear is that this massive security state, and its contractors, are irate about these leaks, which have given critical information to the public that has long been denied to it by its elected representatives. It is a closed system that is represented vividly by Booz Allen. The current head of national intelligence (Clapper) is a former company executive. The prior intelligence head is now leading the company. It is part of a security state that generates hundreds of billions of dollars and we are the subject of their work under these and other programs. They do not like people causing the public to ask questions.
Snowden acted from within this closed system. We have a democratic system that seems entirely unconnected to the public. From the continuation of our fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to warrantless surveillance, the views of the public seem entirely immaterial to our leaders. They offer rhetorical responses but largely act within a system controlled by two parties and their leaders. Congress itself has proven, yet again, to be entirely disinterested in civil liberties or privacy values. The courts have refused to hear dozens of public interest lawsuits seeking review of such programs. In this environment, whistleblowers often feel that they have no recourse but to go to the media. Of course, this Administration has not only attacked privacy but the free press in the recent scandals.
What is striking is the anger directed at Snowden from the media. He will be held accountable for any crime, but he is also someone who acted at great peril to himself. I do not believe that that makes him a “clown” and I hope that some attention will remain on the attack on privacy represented by these programs.
What do you think?
Swarthmore mom, your constant support of the Anti-American, Nazi policies of the Clinton’s, Bush’s & now Obama, why you should just get & proudly wear that Nazi arm band, after all you’ve earned it.
SWM, I now understand and agree to a certain degree. But for a company to succeed it has to be more talent than access. And, a company can succeed w/o any access to govt., but they cannot succeed w/o any talent. Only govt. agencies can do that.
The government is backpeddling in two Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) cases:
(EFF).
I never get tired of hearing Glenn Greenwald speak.
He is so on-point, so well informed and so capable of conveying what he knows while under pressure, I truly idolize him.
I hope that, like Greenwald and Turley, the media et al doesn’t manage to redirect public attention to “Snowden-is-a-clown and traitor” instead of the real story Snowden risks his life to uncover.
You can see the two prongs of media reporting going down these respective ways, and one will win out. They are both plausible, but one seeks to cover up the cover up, and the other seeks to blow it wide open.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Snowden_Revelations?src=rss More Charles Pierce….
Oky1, Obama is not getting impeached over this.The republicans that control the house took out after him over Benghazi and the IRS scandal but not this.
The full measure of what we’ve become is still under wraps.
(It’s standard operating procedure to attempt to discredit…)
George W. Obama and Minirity Report….
Ok, it posted after all. Ok, it’s all good.
It seems wordpress is still block the petition on the House that’s white, it’s website, in DC.
The petiton ask Obama to resign & save us from his impeachment.
You can sign on or pass it along to other websites you visit.
Over 12,000 have signed on in just the 1st few days.
nick, Why do you think half of Booz Allen’s employees have security clearances and have previously worked for the government? It can’t be that they are the most talented. It is because they have access.
But, this guy is not just a geek. Hell, he’s more eloquent than most of the people in Congress.
Sign on or pass it along to others.
I don’t know if links are still not posting here so you’ll have to search the link for yourself:
we petition the obama administration to:
We Demand President Obama Resign
President Richard Nixon resigned after wiretapping a handful of journalists, sparing the nation the ordeal of impeachment. We call on Obama to do the same. His administration vetted the NSA’s surveillance of millions of Americans and seriously violated the Fourth Amendment. He confiscated the personal records of reporters, thus violating the First Amendment, and the IRS under his watch harassed political organizations opposed to his policies. Moreover, his administration has lied under oath to Congress. In addition to violating Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution by invading Libya, his administration engaged in torture and conducted a covert drone war. Due to the severity of these crimes, we call for the immediate resignation of Barack Obama.
Created: Jun 07, 2013
SWM, I’m not sure what you mean by “access?” If you mean skills or talent than we agree. Private business is not obsessed w/ university pedigree. They’re focused on talent and skills and know it comes in many different people outside the box.
I think viewers who see Jeff Toobin discussing issues of law must come away with a false impression of Lawyers.
Many likely see Toobin & they tend to believe all Lawyers must be idiots like him.
Unlike Professor Turley I have no respect for Jeff Toobin.
I know from studying the history this country that when the founders wrote that phrase about protecting ourselves, our country, from Domestic Enemies they were surly having a vision of the future of what evil looked like & there they saw the face of Jeff Toobin among the belligerents.
Toobin for too long it seems to me takes a few coins from the American hating trash, his bosses, & provides them the service of a Judas Goat attempting to keep citizens clam as he greases the way for them to the Tyranny of Evil Men.
There was a reason the Constitution & it’s Bill of Rights isn’t full of the modern day legalize Bull Sheeet, it’s because the writers were protecting us from interpretations from Aholes like Jeff that conjured up legal advise sent him from despots running the depths of Dante’s Inferno.
nick, Booz Allen is elitist. I highly doubt that they would they hire an eighth grade dropout unless the person had access to something that they wanted. That was the point I was trying to make but I guess it was not clear enough.
puzzling 1, June 10, 2013 at 9:18 am
Snowden has demonstrated truly incredible courage and principle. Let’s hope his action opens the doors for others to come forward and expose radical, criminal activities by this government.
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They read that.
Their policy is to crush whistleblowers so others will be intimidated rather than protecting the people from the Stalinists.
Surprised by scapegoating?
Not in the least.
But consider this: it was part of the inevitable price of coming forward which not only put brakes on the government’s ability to demonize a “blind target” but also purchased Snowden a certain amount of security from simply being disappeared. By coming forward (and in the way he did), Snowden partially inoculated himself from being treated like whistleblower Bradley Manning or worse.
As for clowns, who is the real one? The guy who took a stand on principle and revealed blatant unconstitutional abuses by the government against its citizens or the guy cheerleading for the propaganda scapegoat drive?
I think the answer to that is pretty obvious.
SWM, Although Snowden was a dropout he is reportedly a computer whiz. Don’t be an elitist. Many intelligent kids just don’t fit into the cookie cutter school system we’ve created. The man is obviously quite intelligent. I’m w/ you on Booz Allen to a certain degree.
The NSA outing furor is a paper tiger that rears its head every time a society is but a few steps away from totalitarianism. No damage has been done in the release (leak!)to anyone but a runaway government trying to hide nefarious activities under the cloak of national security. Secrecy is the death knoll for freedom. Trust government. OK! Please excuse me while I enter a lengthy trance to erase all knowledge of Benghazi, the IRS, Fast and Furious, the Black Panthers, Obamacare, demonization of the Tea Party, to name just a few. Government is necessary for order, for just laws, and the peoples voice. Government is not necessary when it is corrupt, inefficient, incompetent, duplicitous anti-Constitutional, anti-capitalism, anti-individual freedom…not in the America I know.