Snowden Granted Temporary Asylum In Russia

It is now confirmed that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia and has left Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International airport. The United States continues to threaten any country that grants Snowden asylum and has been successful in pressuring U.S. media never to refer to him as a whistleblower. While MSNBC hosts mock Snowden and express disbelief why he doesn’t just trust that Obama will give him a fair trial, there is little reason for Snowden to trust those assurances when a president is claiming the right to kill citizens without trial, send some people to military tribunals, and routinely uses classification laws to force the dismissal of public interest lawsuits. What’s not to trust?

Polls show roughly half of Russian citizens support Snowden and support asylum.

For Snowden, he may not see a good option. They just finishing the Manning trial where they pursued an abusive “aiding the enemy” charge without a foundation of evidence to support such a charge. He is looking at life in prison even after being acquitted on the charge. In the meantime, on America’s Animal Farm, only members of the ruling elite are allowed to steal and destroy classified evidence without going to jail.

Snowden would face classification laws limiting his defense and laws written to require little showing for conviction. The Administration is infamous for count stacking where they pile on dozens and even hundreds of counts to guarantee life in prison.

Snowden has embarrassed powerful leaders in the United States and showed that they have been lying to the public. This includes not only Obama but top Democrats. They want Snowden punished for their sins.

In such an environment, Russia may look pretty darn good to Snowden.

Source: ABC News