Rep. Tom McClintock calls for amnesty for Edward Snowden
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Granite Bay) has called for amnesty for National Security Agency leaks source Edward Snowden.
McClintock said the amnesty would enable Snowden to return to the United States to answer questions about his leaking of government secrets “without the threat of prosecution.”
“We have some very good laws against sharing secrets and he broke those laws,” McClintock said last week in an interview with KCRA-TV last week after a town hall in Roseville, near Sacramento.
“On the other hand, he broke them for a very good reason because those laws were being used in direct contravention of our 4th Amendment rights as Americans.”
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has been granted temporary asylum in Russia after disclosing agency surveillance programs. His actions have prompted President Obama to propose reforms in the agency’s spy programs.
Snowden has been viewed as a heroic whistleblower by his supporters and called a traitor by his critics.
ALSO:
California fires contractor on tech project
Payroll project may be impossible, analyst says
Overhaul of California payroll system at risk of collapse
Twitter: @jeanmerl
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
