Turk Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) A leading conservative US senator says former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden should only receive "a few years in prison", not the death penalty, as punishment for his disclosure of information on government surveillance programs. Photo: Edward Snowden should not get the death penalty, a leading US conservative politician says. (theguardian.co.uk) Rand Paul, a Republican, said in an interview with ABC America that Snowden does not deserve the death penalty or life in prison for the leaks, which have rattled the US intelligence community, not to mention an American public that had been unaware of the extent of the National Security Agency (NSA) data collection program. Instead, Mr Paul spoke favourably of "some penalty of a few years in prison" if Snowden were to return to the US from Russia, where he currently is living, to face trial. Mr Paul, a freshman senator from Kentucky and a Tea Party favourite who has his eye on running for president in 2016, made his remarks a few days after a New York Times editorial said Snowden had done the US "a great service" in divulging details of NSA surveillance. The newspaper said the US government should offer Snowden "a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home." Senator Charles Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, also on ABC, said Snowden should return to stand trial but that the US should not offer a plea bargain to him. Mr Schumer said a trial could help clarify several issues, including whether the vast amounts of data being collected by the NSA actually help the US root out terrorists and how much damage Snowden's leaks have done to American intelligence agents. Last month, a federal judge criticised the NSA's metadata counter-terrorism program, saying that he could not imagine a more "indiscriminate" and "arbitrary invasion." The Obama administration on Friday appealed that court's ruling, which said that the NSA's gathering of Americans' telephone records was probably unconstitutional. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-06/leading-us-senator-says-snowden-shouldnt-get-death-penalty/5185678 Edited January 5, 2014 by Turk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locoJoe Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Snowden didnt break any laws. He was fully within his constitutional rights when he did what he did. The problem is that the govt is crooked and does not respect the constitution nor its checks and balances any longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEEL Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Man I say, North Korea ends the Slave Camps, Snowden gets,s a small Hiding and the NSA allowed to Snoop with our permission :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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