Glenn Greenwald: Snowden ‘Thrilled’ with NSA Ruling
During an appearance on MSNBC Thursday afternoon, journalist Glenn Greenwald told Alex Wagner that he has spoken to Edward Snowden about the Second Court of Appeals’ ruling that the NSA’s metadata collection program is illegal and the exiled whistleblower is “thrilled” with the decision.
“It took Edward Snowden to come forward and he came forward in large part because he heard Director [James] Clapper, the senior U.S. national security official, tell the Senate and the American people falsely that the government was not doing exactly the program that the court today said was illegal,” Greenwald added, saying it was “very gratifying” to hear the decision today.
Later, when Wagner asked if Greenwald believes this ruling will mean the end of James Clapper’s career, he said we now know the director was “lying and hiding a program that was against the law,” adding, “If that doesn’t get you fired by the Obama Administration, let alone prosecuted, what does? If that’s not a firing offense, then nothing is.”
Finally, when Wagner asked Greenwald if he think the ruling could lead to Snowden’s return to the U.S., he replied, “It should.”
“How can anybody say that we would be better off if Edward Snowden had just kept quiet and let us remain ignorant of the spying program that a federal court now said is illegal? It’s classic whistleblowing,” Greenwald said. “I think he deserves our national gratitude, not a life in prison.”
Watch video below, via MSNBC:
[Photo via screengrab]
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