Snowden: Would return to US with guarantee of fair trial

[Zorro]

Source: AP

Speaking via Skype from Russia, Edward Snowden told an audience of supporters in New Hampshire on Saturday that he is willing to be extradited to the United States if the federal government would guarantee he would get a fair trial.

The former National Security Agency contractor in 2013 leaked details of a secret government eavesdropping program and left the country. He faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

Snowden spoke Saturday at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum, heavily attended by libertarians. WMUR reported that forum organizers did not allow the media to video record his remarks.

"I've told the government I would return if they would guarantee a fair trial where I can make a public interest defense of why this was done and allow a jury to decide," Snowden told his audience.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-return-us-guarantee-fair-trial-043059728.html

---

How ya likin' those Moscow winters, Eddie?

And not allowing the media to video record your remarks? What's up with that, Mr. Freedom of Information?

[hlthe2b]

1. No matter how one feels about Snowden....

I'd say the writing was on the wall for him. He's going to have to stay in Russia if he wants to escape bars, I'm pretty convinced.

"Justice" seems to be in the eyes of the beholder, I guess.

[getagrip_already]

2. a fair trial?

He sounds like trump.

Sure, he can have a fair trial, just like everyone else who steals thousands of classified documents and takes them to china and russia.

Come on home. A fair trial awaits.

[Bohemianwriter]

38. Wouldn't count on it...

...Unless you consider the treatment of Chelsea Manning fair...


We live in a world where lies and propaganda hits the headlines, and the truth suppressed...

[rtracey]

3. hmmm

To bad he doesnt have apple phone codes...oh wait, maybe he can get a job there and steal them.....

[cstanleytech]

4. Pure grandstanding, there is no way in hell he will return and its not because

he couldnt get a fair trial its because there is plenty of video of him admitting to breaking the law in regards to the handling of classified information.

[Blue_Tires]

5. "Fair trial"

More like "rig the system by changing the laws so I can get off"

His "unfair trial" claims have long, long since been debunked... He's getting to be as bad as Assange...

Eddie should have taken whatever plea deal was on the table...

[newthinking]

16. Fair trial would mean whistleblower consideration

[Bohemianwriter]

39. So you are in favor of...

protecting the criminals they exposed and go after the whistleblowers instead?

[Blue_Tires]

45. I'm in favor of letting the courts decide

since after all, if his cause is so just and righteous, he should be burning for his day in court...And I'm not sure what kind of "whistleblower" defects to Moscow and leaks a bunch of non-whistleblowing stories...

The Special Snowflake continues to conflate "likely to be found guilty" with "unfair trial"... Even he knows this, he's just playing a PR angle here to let his fans believe that he still has some control over his fate. (Hint: He doesn't -- Snowflake is completely under Russian control for the indefinite future)

[Helen Borg]

6. Of course he won't have a fair trial.

[potone]

7. No kidding.

The inability, or unwillingness, of some people to face what has happened to our civil liberties post-9/11 is amazing.

[cstanleytech]

27. No, not at all. Revealing information that the government was listening in was fine

and he could have easily fit under the whiteblower fig leaf but releasing extensive details on what the government had is where he crossed the line from whiteblower.

[mpcamb]

35. Sorry. It's not 'a fig'.

It's a guarantee against an unlawful action of a government.
When the government is WRONG it cannot be a crime to report it to the public.

It can't be minimalized. It's not a fig... no matter what Republicans try to tell you.

[cstanleytech]

41. If it was just about the wiretapping inside the US I would agree with you but he released

information also about intelligence gathered oveaseas against foreign governments and that crosses the line.

[potone]

36. Whiteblower???

What on earth is that?

[cstanleytech]

42. Me typing on my nexus 7s touchscreen :P lol

[msanthrope]

9. He will have a more fair trial than any of my clients ever had. nt

[Helen Borg]

10. There are no fair trials of whistleblowers on US soil. Period.

[msanthrope]

11. He is not a whistleblower. nt

[Helen Borg]

12. He is. And a hero. nt

[newthinking]

18. And the Soviet Union thought the same way about their dissidents

and we supported them.

Funny how we cannot recognize dissent in our own borders. Seems that is part of a country's departure from just and democratic principles.

[potone]

37. Yes indeed.

I think he did a great service to this nation, and I consider him a hero. Those who criticize him for being in Russia conveniently forget that the US government canceled his passport so he could not travel.

[newthinking]

17. This.

[olddad56]

8. Fair trial? no such thing.

[Earth_First]

13. Simply read the comments section here at DemocraticUnderground...

...then you tell me he'd ever get a fair trial on US soil.

[cstanleytech]

28. Earth, Snowden did himself in though because with varies interviews there is no way in hell he

would not be convicted because those are as good as a confession.
If had kept his mouth shut he might have been able to get alot of the evidence thrown out or suppressed and maybe plead down to a lesser charge but the interviews make that next to impossible because the prosecutor will use those videos and interviews he gave against him.

[Reter]

14. He won't if Hillary, Trump, Rubio, or Clinton are President

Last edited Mon Feb 22, 2016, 09:56 PM - Edit history (1)

His only chance now that Paul has dropped out is Sanders.

[freebrew]

15. No fair trial in the US...

but Gen. Petraeus really got punished for far worse.

A slap on the wrist and paid retirement. What a deal.

[farleftlib]

19. As a whistleblower

he should be welcomed home. I'd salute him.

[randome]

23. Anyone can call themselves a whistleblower just as anyone can call themselves a journalist.

Ask James O'Keefe about that. He's only serving the public interest because...well, because he says so.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]The truth doesn’t always set you free.
Sometimes it builds a bigger cage around the one you’re already in.[/center][/font][hr]

[farleftlib]

32. True

But I've seen the documentary and the interviews and I believe him FWIW. Plus I don't see any other motive that makes sense when he knew he would suffer the consequences. I believe he weighed everything and decided he couldn't keep silent about it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. Another baseball season coming...they show much baseball on the Moscow teevee?

Oh well.

Enjoy Russia!

[americannightmare]

21. Don't do it, Ed...

They'll renege, guaranteed!

[The Second Stone]

22. A fair trial is constitutionally guaranteed

so good luck with that Mr. Snowden.

No way is any prosecutor going to be bound to let him present an affirmative defense of public interest/necessity. At least one juror would hang the panel in any number of trials.

And I don't see why Snowden should get a better guarantee of a fair trial than any of the other tens of thousands of accused/litigants who only get the bullshit version.

[olddad56]

24. and impossible because of the pre trial prejudice that exist in the minds of everyone involved.

fair trials are a myth.

[cstanleytech]

29. No, you probably could get a good unbiased jury but the main problem isnt jury selection but rather

it is the varies interviews Snowden himself gave which have him on record admitting it.
If those didnt exist he might have a chance of acquittal but since they do exist I dont see any way a jury wouldnt convict him.

[olddad56]

31. I don't believe anyone can get a trial with an unbaised jury.

maybe the people are not consciously biased, but biased just the same.

[cstanleytech]

43. Well its pointless to quibble over because of those interviews he did, if those didnt exist

he might have a shot at getting acquitted or atleast at plea bargaining.

[alcibiades_mystery]

47. By "fair trial," Snowden means "If I was guaranteed an acquittal."

If he is convicted, the trail wasn't fair, QED.

[kstewart33]

25. He won't find much support in the US.

No sympathy for Snowden.

[BillZBubb]

26. If I was on the jury, he'd have all the support he needed.

The guy is a real hero.

[cstanleytech]

30. A fire fighter who runs into a burning building to rescue a child is a hero and

Snowden is no fire fighter.

[farleftlib]

33. I'm with you

He stuck his neck out for us because he couldn't keep silent about what was going on behind closed doors.

I think he deserves a parade, not a trial.

[olddad56]

34. so I guess it would be safe to say that you have a bias against snowden

and would not be a candidate to sit on a jury to to try his case. I think almost everyone in this country has a bias either for or against him. So, of course he isn't coming back. He could never receive a fair trial.

[former9thward]

40. Don't do it Snowden

You would be suicided.

[OnyxCollie]

44. It's a trap!

[lark]

46. Don't do it, Edward, just stay where you are.

When both sides of the government hate your every breath, a fair trial is not going to happen. So sorry.

[Sky Masterson]

48. If it is a fair trial he would be convicted of treason

So,yea. C'mon back.

[Tarheel_Dem]

49. Edward pinned his hopes on shysters like GG, and being estranged from his home country is his reward

They miscalculated badly in their attempt to sway public opinion. Privacy takes a back seat to security it seems. So far, Apple is making the same miscalculation.

Poll: Half of Americans say Apple should help FBI unlock iPhone

The poll found that 51 percent of those surveyed think the tech giant should create the software to unlock the phone and assist the FBI in the investigation. Slightly more than one third (38 percent) said that Apple should not unlock the phone and 11 percent did not know.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/pew-survey-apple-iphone-fbi-219629#ixzz40w8ZaaCn