POL200 Do you consider Snowden's actions an act of political speech protected by the 1st Amendment under the US Constitution, or do you consider his actions as treason?

Query

Do you consider Snowden's actions an act of political speech protected by the 1st Amendment under the US Constitution, or do you consider his actions as treason?

Essay

“Because of “the crisis”, because of “the dangers that we face in the world”, some new and unpredicted threat <the government will say it> need(s) more authority.. need(s) more power there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it, and it will be turn key tyranny.”
- Edward Snowden

Who is Snowden?

Edward Snowden became a world-known figure when he leaked documents to Glenn Greenwald, then a journalist for for the Guardian. Snowden was a former NSA contractor. A secret organization collecting information on millions of Americans. By most accounts an illegal operation. The documents that Snowden revealed gave evidence of secret programs that are used to collect and store personal data on innocent people; “warrantless mass surveillance of citizens domestically and abroad.”

What is the NSA?

The NSA is a secret government information agency. It only became public in 2013 when Snowden came forward about the program. [Patterson] Smithsonian’s David Wise sums it up for us: The NSA “collects signals intelligence across the globe from listening platforms under the sea, in outer space, in foreign countries, on ships and on aircraft. “

Edward Snowden’s exposure of government documents revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was wiretapping millions of United States Citizens. Wiretapping without awareness and consent is illegal without a warrant. That millions of innocent Americans were/are being spied on is a violation of civil liberties.

Whistleblower Protection Act

The “Whistleblower Protection Act” according to the CRS Report for Congress, protects "any disclosure" that a employee believes signals "any violation of any law, rule, or regulation," or "gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, and abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety."

Traitor or hero?

Whether Snowden is a Traitor to the Nation or a Hero is a hotly debated topic. Mary-Rose Papandrea in the Boston University Law Review explains why an informant, such as Snowden, is not protected under the First Amendment.

“The government and commentators have made several arguments why the unauthorized disclosure of national security information falls outside of the First Amendment: (1) unauthorized disclosures of national security information are not speech; (2) government insiders have been entrusted with the information and have obligations not to reveal it; (3) relatedly, government insiders have contractually waived any First Amendment rights they may have possessed; and (4) Garcetti v. Cebellos eliminated First Amendment protection for the disclosure of any information obtained on the job.

Why so few?

Mark Friedman in the Journal of Legal Studies explains that our law does not provide legal protections for government contractors in the NSA, such as Edward Snowden, who report the governments illegal misconduct. Snowden wasn’t working for the government, but a private contractor. Even government employees have “inadequate protection” Government employees have a small range of upper level management, such as Inspector Generals or Congress. “Apart from the bureaucratic hurdles that employees would have to overcome, they may also find themselves in the uncomfortable position of reporting to the very people responsible for approving or shielding the questionable activity.”

Former NSA analyst Russell Tice, in December 2005 accused the NSA of exceeding limits of its permissible surveillance directive. Tice said of Snowden: "This guy has more courage than anyone I know…I encourage everyone to read the constitution, especially about Probable Cause and the fourth amendment, and to do the right thing," Tice said in an interview with Friedman.

Amnesty International and ACLU

“Edward Snowden … revealed the shocking extent of global mass surveillances.” [Amnesty Int.] Amnesty International and the ACLU each lobbying to pardon Edward Snowden and drop his charges? That those world wide organizations are both backing Snowden, makes me consider that he is a hero of the people.

ACLU advises us that “laws that are being used against Snowden do not distinguish between patriotic whistleblowers and foreign agents. It would be a true miscarriage of justice if the government succeeded in imprisoning for life a person who revealed unconstitutional government conduct. “

Changes

The largest tech companies in the world, including many that had the NSA blindly data mining their back-end’s – Microsoft, Apple, Google, Snap, Verizon, – have launched a campaign called Reform Government Surveillance

According to its website: “RGS therefore strongly believes that current surveillance laws and practices must be reformed. Government surveillance must be consistent with established global norms of privacy, free expression, security, and the rule of law. Government law enforcement and intelligence efforts should be rule-bound, narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to strong oversight.”

Closing

That the moral few are willing to risk their lives to protect society continually pouring personal data into Facebook at an alarming rate, and remain unacknowledged for their sacrifice is another topic. Yes, Snowden is a hero. However it seems the people are more fond of comfort and complacency, knowing well the ramifications of their actions. Being a hero in real life is often a thankless task. Yet that’s what heroes do. They stand up because it’s the right thing to do. Not because they gain glory or comfort from it.

Bibliography

ACLU. Edward Snowden. n.d. 9 Arp 2020. <https://www.aclu.org/blog/edward-snowden-patriot >.

Amesty International . n.d. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/03/edward-snowden-privacy-is-for-the-powerless/ >.

FRIEDMAN, MARK. "Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor? Considering the Implications for Canadian National Security and Whistleblower Law." Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies vol. 24 (2015): 1-23. 9 Apr 2020. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=d8c28fa8-6e54-46c4-8bd5-853b159fb2cb%40sessionmgr4007 >.

Johnson, Luke. Obama Defends NSA Programs, Says Congress Knew About Surveillance. 7 Jun 2013. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-nsa_n_3403389>.

Kasperowicz, Pete. Lawmaker:. 'Traitor' Snowden deserves death penalty. 11 Feb 2016. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lawmaker-traitor-snowden-deserves-death-penalty>.

PAPANDREA, MARY-ROSE. "Leaker Traitor Whistleblower Spy: National Security Leaks and the First Amendment." Boston University Law Review vol. 94 (2014): 449-544. 9 Apr 2020. <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=6536e17f-5ac0-45b9-a5a7-222a7046406b%40pdc-v-sessmgr01>.

PATTERSON, THOMAS. We The People. 13th. New York: McGraw, 2019. page 128.

Snowden, Edward. Who is Edward Snowden and what did he do? n.d. 9 Apr 2020. <https://edwardsnowden.com/frequently-asked-questions/>.

Surveillance, Reform Government. n.d. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/ >.

Whitaker, Paige L. ""Whistleblower Protection Act, an Overview."." 2007. 9 Apr 2020. <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33918.pdf>.

Wise, David. Smithsonian Magazine. Aug 2011. 9 Apr 2020. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leaks-and-the-law-the-story-of-thomas-drake-14796786/ >.

Requirement 600-800 words. Word Count 789 words not inc opening query, quote and biblio
POL200 Spring 2020 Mendocino College Prof. Liljeblad