Putin grants citizenship on Edward Snowden

[Iroh]

The Russian president has granted citizenship to former NSA contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden along with other foreign nationals. Snowden has been living in Russia where he was granted asylum and later permanent residency as he flees persecution in the United States for the theft of government property.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/26/putin-grants-russian-citizenship-to-whistleblower-edward-snowden.html

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[BADecker]

Snowden is worth it. He is still fighting US corruption.

[LTU_btc]

So, I guess now he is fully eligibe for mobilization . Actually, I thought that he already received Russian citizenship long time ago.
You can call him here or whatever you want, but it doesn't changes fact that he is traitor of his country.

[OgNasty]

Can't really hate on Putin for this decision (not that he really had anything to do with it).  It's the right thing to do.  I thank Snowden for showing that all the crazy conspiracy theorists were right, even if a vast majority of people still don't believe it.  I can't help but think the timing of this has more to do with pissing off the United States and doing some good public relations for Putin during a time when a large chunk of the world thinks he's out of his mind and causing massive casualties without a good reason.  Still, congratulations to Snowden all the same.  It must feel good to have a little peace of mind.

[yazher]

I never thought of this kind of thing happening in real life. well, of course, there are lots of spies out there but to be publicized like this is something you don't seem to witness every day and they seem to make it public simply because his job is already done and he can live in Russia forever. I doubt this man will still be free to travel after this event. I checked his data on Wikipedia, Man! his a real deal, an important person and can really give the Russian government some information they want.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden

[BADecker]

Snowden wasn't out there to harm the US. His activities that seemed to be against the US, were really just against the illegal activities that government was doing. You might compare him to Julian Assange, except that Assange was more of a journalist, and Snowden knew more of the real details.

Either way, both of these guys were trying to warn the people of the ways that government was trying to harm them. Assange simply didn't have his cover set up well enough. Snowden had a good plan for ducking out when government came after him.

These guys both show us what happens to people who are whistle blowers against government. Most whistle blowers aren't as popular as these two guys. But there are a lot of them.

[Gyfts]

This is just a formality for media headlines. Snowden was integrated essentially as a Russian citizen and has no intentions of ever leaving. Nor was Russia interested in deporting him.

I recall back to Jan. 2021 when Trump had the opportunity to pardon Snowden but was dissuaded by his colleagues, instead pardoning the usual relatives of political donors. If there was anyone to pardon Snowden, it would've been Trump. No future President would be willing to do it.

[BADecker]

Snowden might change his mind sometime. He has reasons for what he does.

However, Russia might be just the place for him. After all, there is plenty of snow in Russia, and with a name like "Snowden" ... 

[Iroh]

This is just a formality for media headlines. Snowden was integrated essentially as a Russian citizen and has no intentions of ever leaving. Nor was Russia interested in deporting him.

I recall back to Jan. 2021 when Trump had the opportunity to pardon Snowden but was dissuaded by his colleagues, instead pardoning the usual relatives of political donors. If there was anyone to pardon Snowden, it would've been Trump. No future President would be willing to do it.

It’s not merely a formality for media headlines. He as granted asylum first and later permanent residency. He has been living there since and just recently was granted the full right and privileges of a citizen.

Right now, I don’t think a pardon would help his case as some Americans still look upon him as a traitor. Even if he’s granted a pardon which is very unlikely, I doubt he would be able to live a quiet and peaceful life in the U.S

[Gyfts]

It’s not merely a formality for media headlines. He as granted asylum first and later permanent residency. He has been living there since and just recently was granted the full right and privileges of a citizen.

Would that entail much benefit? What privileges does a permanent resident not have oppose to a citizen? Participation in Russian elections doesn't seem to be the greatest privilege considering they're rigged.

Right now, I don’t think a pardon would help his case as some Americans still look upon him as a traitor. Even if he’s granted a pardon which is very unlikely, I doubt he would be able to live a quiet and peaceful life in the U.S

Probably. The folks that seem him as a traitor just take their privacy rights for granted. Seems like a lot of people don't remember the Vault 7 leaks a few years after Snowden's leaks. Arguably a bigger story, no one cared.

[theskillzdatklls]

How on Earth the US has justified what they did to him all this time is insane. Snowden getting Russian citizenship should be a slap on the face to any American that likes US domestic/foreign policy.

[BADecker]

How on Earth the US has justified what they did to him all this time is insane. Snowden getting Russian citizenship should be a slap on the face to any American that likes US domestic/foreign policy.

We need to remember that the US doesn't do anything. The US is simply some words on paper. Then who does it? Some people who have taken an oath of office to do according to what the Constitution says during their time in government. But they don't obey their oath, and nobody takes them to task over it.

If we the simple citizens called government officials out - accused the government man or woman - and took them to court over it, we could not only turn things around, but we could make some money at the same time... if we did it the right way.

[Majestic-milf]

So, I guess now he is fully eligibe for mobilization . Actually, I thought that he already received Russian citizenship long time ago.
You can call him here or whatever you want, but it doesn't changes fact that he is traitor of his country.

  Lolz, eligible for mobilization? Nah, I doubt that he has any fighting bone in his body and according to his lawyer, he can't be called up as he hasn't not served before.
 He's being called a traitor because he exposed some dirty deeds. But I think it's better to do the right thing and be called a traitor for it then to a cupboard full of skeletons and still be seen as saint by the public.

[LTU_btc]

So, I guess now he is fully eligibe for mobilization . Actually, I thought that he already received Russian citizenship long time ago.
You can call him here or whatever you want, but it doesn't changes fact that he is traitor of his country.

  Lolz, eligible for mobilization? Nah, I doubt that he has any fighting bone in his body and according to his lawyer, he can't be called up as he hasn't not served before.
 He's being called a traitor because he exposed some dirty deeds. But I think it's better to do the right thing and be called a traitor for it then to a cupboard full of skeletons and still be seen as saint by the public.

Sentence about mobilization more like joke. But seriously, now he is Russian citizen and he is eligible age for mobilization. I know what his lawyer said there is few examples from Russia who didn't even served in army got mobilized. But it would be unbeleavable if it would happen for Snowden.
Yeah, he revealed lot of dirty things, but he is still traitor and USA will never forgive him. Though, I would say that in this story everything is black and white.

[Kavelj22]

Granting Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden is a necessary step to protect him from prosecution in his home country, America, which can continue to pursue him under domestic laws. And since no country would dare to take this step, Russia chose the appropriate timing to be in the form of a punitive step, such as the sanctions that America is increasing its imposition on it.

Edward Snowden has long been protecting Russia and granting him citizenship is just another step in Putin's war strategy against those boycotting him with sanctions.

[BADecker]

^^^ Edward Snowden's first contract was his Oath of Office, to uphold the Constitution of the USA. When he realized, through his position in national security, that many other people who had take the same Oath of Office as he did, were breaking their Oath, and causing destruction of America through that breaking, all he did was to tell us all about what they were doing. So, essentially Edward Snowden is near the top as far as being patriotic to the USA.

If you read the Constitution, you will find that the US doesn't have any business running around the world and interfering in other countries. And if it is unclear in the Constitution, then the writings of both the Federalists and the Anti-federalists will clarify it. (These were the two main groups of people who set up the Constitution in the first place.) Both groups wanted to keep America out of foreign affairs.

All that Snowden did was to do his duty and show us all how there were many people in Government breaking their Oath to uphold the Constitution, at least in the spirit of the Constitution. Regarding this, Russia was changed by US government people and US banking people who supplied the Bolshevik revolutionaries with what they needed to overthrow the Russian government of 1916. Putin knows this, or at least now that Snowden prompted him to look at Russian history.

The US is against Russia for one major reason. The Bolshevik overthrow was intended to make a socialist one-world government way back then. But, along the way, Russia revolted against the criminals in the US government and banking system. That's the basic reason why the US is pushing Ukraine into a fight against Russia. Not because Russia is trying to forcefully take over the world. In fact, just the opposite.

[PrimeNumber7]

This is just a formality for media headlines. Snowden was integrated essentially as a Russian citizen and has no intentions of ever leaving. Nor was Russia interested in deporting him.

I would tend to agree with this. Snowden has more or less been loyal to Russia for a long time. Part of this is likely due to his own self-perservation (without said loyalty, he would likely face the death penalty).

It is unfortunately likely that Russia has seen sensitive documents belonging to the US that have nothing to do with his whistleblowing activities. One can argue is this outweighs the benefits of him making public the abuses by the US intelligence agencies against its own citizens....