General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm getting really sick of the whole "Comrade Eddie" BS from some [View all]DirkGently
(12,151 posts)to turn Snowden's whistleblowing into a crime that overshadows those of the NSA are disingenuous, and universally come from right-wingers and the small band of full-time Obama protectionists here on DU.
America never treated leaks of classified information showing government wrongdoing to the PRESS as "espionage," which is commonly understood to mean giving sensitive information to the enemy before this administration.
The further you go down this road, the harder you shoot the Obama administration in the foot, which I presume is the opposite of what's intended.
My point stands. "Comrade Eddy" and the like are silly attempts to cream the messenger, and do nothing to dilute NSA wrongdoing.
Calling attention to the fact that the Obama administration has pursued more journalists and whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than anyone in history is a sidelight, but we can talk about Thomas Drake, et al if you want to go there.
No one thinks the NSA revelations were espionage, or that the Pulitzer-winning reporting using Snowden's information are overshadowed by the illegality of the leaks.