Edward Snowden raises hand, swears allegiance to Russia, gets his new passport

And Edward Scissorhands is still on that hill top.

.....

As this situation has evolved, along with watching DL fav Glenn Greenwald's antics, I've really come to question whether the real plan wasn't to foment turmoil by "releasing" the documents as part of a broader Russian disinformation policy - and the fact that it didn't cause more damage was a miscalculation. I think the expectation was always that it would have caused a much bigger public uproar than it did and cause a much larger loss of faith in the government.

The fact that the American people were so blase about it probably shocked them as much as it continues to shock so many of us at how far the surveillance actually went. I have always thought the reveals were a much bigger deal than most people seem to think they were.

The funny thing is that had Snowden not essentially discredited himself, he'd actually hold a much higher place in people's minds, as well as people taking the reveals more seriously. He'd be a folk hero, rather than pariah. I mean, he's probably not fluent in Russian (or writing), so how does he make a living in Russian. It's not like there is a celebrity or book circuit like there would have been in the US. Someone is footing the bill for him and his lifestyle. Even as a contractor, he was probably making at leat $100K at the time doing that kind of work. How has he been supporting himself this entire time. As the conspiracy nutbags always say, follow the dollars...

"so how does he make a living in Russian."

He's on Vlad's secret "payroll," just like MTG, Boebert, Rand Paul and a bunch of American toadies and lackeys.

R3, funny that you mention conspiracy nutbags because you seem to operating totally on fantastical conjecture. Have you considered research before letting your imagination run wild?

Snowden makes money from speeches, and made almost $5m from his book (though he agreed to return it). He has repeatedly said that he would stand trial, but there is literally no admissible defense. Even if he had found evidence of the American government murdering its citizens, releasing that information would put him in prison for life.

[quote][R3], funny that you mention conspiracy nutbags because you seem to operating totally on fantastical conjecture. Have you considered research before letting your imagination run wild?

Meh, perhaps you should learn to read, rather than reading in your own ideas.

[quote]He has repeatedly said that he would stand trial, but there is literally no admissible defense.

You know, because as a practical matter, he's actually guilty, so his only real hope would be jury nullification.

[quote]Snowden makes money from speeches, and made almost $5m from his book (though he agreed to return it).

Perhaps YOU should do your own research.

[quote]Snowden published his book “Permanent Record” last year without government approval, in violation of contracts he signed with the CIA and the National Security Agency...A federal judge had sided with the Justice Department in its lawsuit to claw back Snowden’s proceeds, and was considering how much he would need to pay.

He was never going to be able to keep the money from such endeavors.