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by Draco6slayer 4572 days ago
With all that's being said about the NSA, and how we should add self-restraint, with all that the government is admitting about the current state of the NSA being bad, why not?

If it's that clear that Snowden did the right thing, why not pardon him? I feel that not pardoning Snowden is roughly equivalent to making a statement that people should be in the dark about the government's spying programs, and that the government should be free to spy on its people, unchecked.
2 comments
sneak 4572 days ago
> roughly equivalent to making a statement that people should be in the dark about the government's spying programs, and that the government should be free to spy on its people, unchecked.

That's been the clear attitude of both the Bush and Obama administrations, illustrated through many actions completely unrelated to Snowden.

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rfnslyr 4572 days ago
This is the United States government. By pardoning snowman they set a dangerous precedent.

Let's say they pardon snowden, in the future, if more whistleblowers appear, all they have to do is say "but snowden was pardoned!" And then what?

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actionscripted 4572 days ago
I understand the potentially precarious position this puts the government in with regards to handling leaks and whistle-blowers in the future but I'm okay with that. Pardon Snowden, pardon (encourage?) future whistle-blowers.
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venomsnake 4572 days ago
Don't do stuff that makes people become legitimate whistleblowers is a good start.

The US public is not stupid. There is very little goodwill towards Manning about what he did compared to Snowden[1]. And for good reasons.

So people are pretty good from separating whistleblower and leaker. So I think it will be non issue.

[1] There is a lot of sympathy for Manning about the way he was treated, which may or may not be a good case for clemency in the next administration.

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adventured 4572 days ago
If more people do what Snowden did, and reveal the kind of violations he has, then they too should be pardoned for the same reason he should be.

The proper response by the government to future cases is to judge them each case by case.

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rfnslyr 4572 days ago
None of this is going to happen. The moment they open that door all hell breaks loose.

I really wish, but it won't. The system is solidified.

If they open this door, and then do anything against people using Snowdens precedent, the white house will be in a much worse position than now.

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