Zac Attack: Where in the wold is Edward Snowden?

One of the first things I learned when going to school for journalism is that you cannot obtain information via spying. It is illegal to insert video or audio feeds in people’s homes. So why is it that the National Security Agency is allowed to conduct domestic spy programs when it is illegal?

Before Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA, they made it a point to keep their domestic spying under wraps.

Now that everything is out in the open, it seems we mistook who our enemy actually is. I have read news story after news story through the entire months of May and June updating me on the whereabouts of Edward Snowden, a man who now faces charges of espionage. But I don’t care where Snowden is. As far as I am concerned, Snowden is a hero and should not have to run from the big, bad United States government. What I want to know more about is how exactly is the NSA spying on us and what is going to happen to the NSA for misleading our government and spying on United States citizens.

Gathering that information shouldn’t be too hard. According to a report on Yahoo news, Snowden leaked “a lot” of papers regarding the NSA and their domestic spying program. We should have reporters sifting through these documents, rather than having them wait in Moscow to track down Snowden.

I personally don’t believe Snowden had to run. I believe he could have faced his charges and be released with no more than a slap on the wrist. However, many Americans believe Snowden did the right thing, including Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971. According to an opinion piece the past whistleblower wrote in the Washington Post, he believes Snowden did the right thing leaving the U.S.

“Many people compare Edward Snowden to me unfavorably for leaving the country and seeking asylum, rather than facing trial as I did,” Ellsberg writes. “I don’t agree. The country I stayed in was a different America, a long time ago.”

But people like Snowden and Ellsberg shouldn’t have to fear persecution. They are somewhat protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, which protects informants who report agency misconduct.

However, There are those who believe Snowden cannot be classified as a whistleblower. A simple google search of Snowden will reveal several search results including the headlines “Edward Snowden is no Daniel Ellsberg”. But this is dangerous thinking.

Snowden may not have had the same status Ellsberg had when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, but they are, by definition, both whistleblowers. The difference between Snowden’s situation is not defined by who Ellsberg was — it is defined by how the United States government views whistleblowers.

It seems no whistleblower, even when protected by federal law, can squeeze by without at least being threatened by the United States government.

In the early 2000s, a former exec. of the NSA Tom Drake went through the proper channels to report the organization for using a data collection system called Trailblazer. The system was reportedly undeveloped and lacked provisions that protected the privacy of United States citizens. The NSA chose Trailblazer instead of the alternative ThinThread, a finished project that had the necessary provisions to protect the privacy of United States citizens.

Drake, in the name of fairness, released unclassified documents to newspapers for publication. He became a whistleblower, and later faced charges filed by the United States government, charges that threatened he could live “the rest of his natural life behind bars”.

Drake’s home was raided by the FBI, he then lived in the fear of being prosecuted for two-and-a-half years all for doing the right thing.

After his trial, Drake was only charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to one year of probation and community service. The United States charged Ellsberg in a similar way, and he never saw a minute of jail time. So what will happen to Snowden? According to Ellsberg’s opinion piece, Snowden could face death.

“Nothing worthwhile would be served, in my opinion, by Snowden voluntarily surrendering to U.S. authorities given the current state of the law,” Ellsberg writes. “I hope that he finds a haven, as safe as possible from kidnapping or assassination by U.S. Special Operations forces, preferably where he can speak freely.”