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Why Snowden is “No Hero”

Claims the Intelligence Committee Report of the US House


Edward Snowden wants to come home.

But many do not like what he did.

A parliamentary committee in the United States has flatly denied the idea that Edward Snowden had been acting with honorable motives in the vast information sharing he engaged in.

The intelligence committee, run by the Republicans in the US House of Representatives submitted the 36-page document after two years of investigative work that labels the whistleblower as “no hero” and as a “disgruntled employee who frequently conflicted with superiors.” They describe him as a “traitor, who betrayed his colleagues and his country internationally.”

This unambiguous portrait painted is the committee attempting to draw Snowden as a recalcitrant former employee of the NSA, and nothing more.

The 1.5 million classified documents from secure NSA networks that he released to the public set in motion an enormous scandal bringing the data interception practices of the NSA to light.

The programs collected the telephone metadata records of millions of Americans and examined emails from overseas.

Further character assassinations assert him to have “fudged his resume to get new positions within the NSA” and to have manipulated his performance appraisals.

Snowden contests the report, saying it distorts the facts

He responded on Twitter dismissing the allegations claiming “the American people deserve better.” In a series of tweets, Snowden explains further:

“Their report is so artlessly distorted that it would be amusing if it weren’t such a serious act of bad faith.” – Snowden

His lawyer Ben Wizner from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also criticized the report, calling Snowden a “true American hero” and noting that after two years of investigation the committee could still not find a concrete case where Snowden’s revelations have put people at risk.

Pardon?

Previously fleeing to Hong Kong, and now currently residing in Moscow since 2013, Snowden currently is resting his hopes on last minute pardon by US President Barack Obama. Politicians like Bernie Sanders support him in this demand, along with Amnesty International and other Human Rights groups. However, the White House has rejected the possibility of a parson and the US government has reiterated that they want to see Snowden in court.

Speaking by video link from Moscow addressing a New York City news conference, Snowden said Wednesday that whistleblowing “is democracy’s safeguard of last resort, the one on which we rely when all other checks and balances have failed and the public has no idea what’s going on behind closed doors.”

The report was released one day ahead of the opening of Oliver Stone’s film “Snowden.”

 Photo credit: Flickr