They Did It Again: Trump Set Another Trap for Dems on Rogue Judges
How a CNN Political Commentator Shut Down the Leftist Meltdown Over the FBI...
A Judge Was Arrested for Trying to Help an Illegal Alien Escape. Let's...
Whoever Did This to Shedeur Sanders During the NFL Draft Is Cold-Blooded
Lawless in the Courtroom
If It Saves One Life?
The Party of Racism, Prejudice, and Bias
Trump: I'm Not 'Trolling' When I Say Canada Should Join the US
Hakeem Jeffries Boasts About Blocking Citizen-Only Voting Rule
Nancy Mace Blasts Clemson’s 15-Gender Lunacy
Trump Meets With Zelensky While in Rome for Pope Francis' Funeral
These Posts From Ed Markey, Amy Klobuchar in Reaction to Judge's Arrest Were...
The U.S. Should Learn From a Diminished Europe’s Energy Mistakes
Democrats Should Love the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Trump’s Tax Cuts Worked — Now Make Them Permanent
Tipsheet

Holder Praises Edward Snowden: He Performed a 'Public Service'

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday said Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who stole up to 1.7 million classified documents and released hundreds of thousands of them to journalists, performed a “public service” by igniting a debate in the country about domestic surveillance programs.

Advertisement

"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate we engaged in and by the changes that we made," Holder said during an interview with CNN political commentator and former senior adviser to Obama, David Axelrod.

Nonetheless, Holder did follow up by saying that what Snowden did was wrong.

"Now, I would say doing what he did in the way he did it was inappropriate and illegal," he said. "He's broken the law. In my view, he needs to get lawyers, come on back and decide what he wants to do — go to trial, try to cut a deal."

Snowden has repeatedly said he would be willing to return to the United States if the federal government would provide him a fair trial. However, Snowden says he is concerned that under federal espionage laws he would not allow him to present a whistleblower defense, arguing in court he acted in the public interest.

"But in deciding what an appropriate sentence should be, a judge could take into account the usefulness of having that national debate," Holder added.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement