[NYTimes] Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower

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This editorial by the New York Times calls on the USA to offer the whistleblower Edward Snowden “a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home […].”

“Considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed, and the abuses he has exposed, Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight. He may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service.”

The article also addresses the frequently repeated claim that Snowden could have informed his superiors and that he would have been protected by an exectutive order. “In fact, that executive order did not apply to contractors, only to intelligence employees, rendering its protections useless to Mr. Snowden.”