ACLU Helping Coordinate Edward Snowden's Legal Defense

[midnight]

NEW YORK -– The American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that it has been in contact with former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for several weeks, and at his request the organization is “playing a coordinating role to ensure that he receives appropriate legal advice and representation.”

“As we have said before, we believe that the information Mr. Snowden has disclosed about the nature, scope, and putative legal authorization of the NSA’s surveillance operations has generated a remarkable and long-overdue public debate about the legality and propriety of the government’s surveillance activities," an ACLU statement read. "The ACLU has long held the view that leaks to the press in the public interest should not be prosecutable under the nation’s espionage laws.”

The ACLU’s involvement was first reported Thursday in a Wall Street Journal article about Snowden speaking to his father, Lon Snowden, for the first time since late May, when he fled the United States for Hong Kong and later Russia.

The Journal also reported that Mattie Fein, the wife and spokeswoman of the elder Snowden’s attorney, Bruce Fein, said the father's legal team “doesn't trust the intentions” of Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald, who has broken major NSA surveillance stories based on documents leaked by Snowden, or WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization that has provided the 30-year-old former contractor with advice.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/aclu-edward-snowden-legal-defense_n_3768614.html?ir=Media&ref=topbar


I'm a bit confused... I thought the ACLU does not involve itself in criminal matters...

[geek tragedy]

1. What legal defense? he's not appearing in US courts in the next decade or three nt

[midnight]

4. Well.... yes... Of course he would not want to appear here... Makes perfect sense to me....

[Catherina]

2. Can't answer your question but Mattie Fein is not to be trusted

Snowden’s full statement to The Huffington Post is below:

It has come to my attention that news organizations seeking information regarding my current situation have, due to the difficulty in contacting me directly, been misled by individuals associated with my father into printing false claims about my situation.

I would like to correct the record: I've been fortunate to have legal advice from an international team of some of the finest lawyers in the world, and to work with journalists whose integrity and courage are beyond question. There is no conflict amongst myself and any of the individuals or organizations with whom I have been involved.

Neither my father, his lawyer Bruce Fein, nor his wife Mattie Fein represent me in any way. None of them have been or are involved in my current situation, and this will not change in the future. I ask journalists to understand that they do not possess any special knowledge regarding my situation or future plans, and not to exploit the tragic vacuum of my father's emotional compromise for the sake of tabloid news.

Thank you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/edward-snowden-media-misled_n_3764560.html?utm_hp_ref=the-backstory

[midnight]

3. Thanks Catherina-What a mess this is....

[grasswire]

5. that's interesting, thanks nt