[nickpsecurity]

No, they can't kill him now. They're not allowed to by one of only players on Earth they try not to push too hard: Putin, head of Superpower No 2. They weigh the risk against the fact that damage is already done and all they'd protect is further image problems. They're countering that seperately.

Re damage. Tens of billions to economy that military-industrial complex worked hard to get. Push-back against police state legislation. NSA ops and methods blown. Large uptake in products that reduce SIGINT. Businesses moving overseas. All with no benefits on the table for intelligence agencies.

Far as distractions, that's the media's job focing on mass shooters, North Korea, ISIS, etc instead of pending legislation and schemes by government.