Hillary Clinton: US whistleblower Snowden should return and 'answer for what he has done'
US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden should return to the United States and face the music for his actions.
Clinton made the remarks during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Friday when asked whether the National Security Agency (NSA) leaker is a “patriot” or a “traitor” for leaking secret government data.
Clinton said she was suspicious of Snowden’s motives “because he took valuable information and went first to China and then is now under the protection of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin.”
“I think that raises a lot of questions about everything else he did,” she added. “So I do not think he should escape having to return and answer for what he has done.”
However, she stated that the United States needs “to continue the balance on civil liberties, privacy, and security — it’s always a challenge.”
The former secretary of state said that Snowden could have come out publicly with his classified information and been protected under American whistleblower laws.
“I firmly believe that he could have gone public and released the information about the collection of information on Americans under whistleblower protection, and he could have done it within the tradition in our country that shields people who come forth acting out of conscience to present information they believe the public should have,” Clinton said.
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, began leaking classified intelligence documents in June 2013, revealing the extent of the NSA's spying activity.
He revealed that the spy agency has been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans and foreign nationals as well as political leaders around the world.
Snowden fled his country to avoid espionage charges and was granted asylum in Russia, where he currently resides.
Moscow’s decision to grant temporary asylum to Snowden was a major factor in the deteriorating US-Russian relations, which have declined to Cold War lows over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Many Americans regard Snowden as a whistleblower and a national hero for blowing the lid off the US government’s global surveillance operations.
A US Department of Defense report has said the extent of damage to the US national security from the leak of secret NSA documents by Snowden is staggering.
“The scope of the compromised knowledge related to US intelligence capabilities is staggering,” according to a copy of the Defense Intelligence Agency's classified assessment obtained by The Guardian.
The US Department of Justice has charged Snowden with espionage and stealing of government property.
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