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"The federal judge should then sentence Snowden according to prevailing standards for relevant criminal sanctions. The problem is that the prevailing standard

"The federal judge should then sentence Snowden according to prevailing standards for relevant criminal sanctions. The problem is that the prevailing standard in the US would be life in prison. I imagine that eventually Snowden will wind up serving a life sentence in the underground supermax facility in Florence, Colorado whether he comes voluntarily or not - Russia will eventually use him as a bargaining chip in some trade negotiation, and that will be the end of him. I think it's wrong, but that outcome is almost inevitable at some point. Obama will not pardon him, and I don't think either of the presumptive presidential nominees are big Snowden fans. From the government perspective, Snowden did a tremendous amount of damage, and he will eventually pay for that damage with his life.

SXX 10y ago
Not before Putin's regime disappear or unless Snowden himself start to become danger. I don't believe Putin will trade him under any circumstances. More likely you'll see Crimea traded. Asylum for Snowden it's wasn't just foreign policy act, but more act for Russian elites: we provided asylum for almost #1 on US list and we he is safe. Whole regime built on rule that any loyal person in elites is safe no matter if he's murderer, pedophile or any other kind of criminal. Just think about Magnitsky case. It's was just a bunch of criminals who wasn't even part of Russian elite, but Putin didn't betrayed them even after it was clear that would cause significantly damage to whole county economy. So giving Snowden would sent signal to elites that they and their capitals no longer safe. It's would be deathly for regime.
- rangibaby 10y ago
  Yes, it has been the case since Khrushchev was deposed that Russian elites have been allowed to retire instead of being murdered. Great point.
- SXX 10y ago
  Too many typos. Sorry.
gbuk2013 10y ago
One way to make sure this does not happen is for him to apply for Russian citizenship - extraditing a Russian citizen is forbidden by the constitution. I'm sure it is not something he really wants to do, but it's not like his US citizenship does much for him now anyway.
Jerry2 10y ago
>I imagine that eventually Snowden will wind up serving a life sentence in the underground supermax facility in Florence, Colorado whether he comes voluntarily or not - Russia will eventually use him as a bargaining chip in some trade negotiation, and that will be the end of him. I think it's wrong, but that outcome is almost inevitable at some point. That's a complete fantasy. Snowden will never be used as a bargaining chip. It would send a terrible message to people who are currently spying for Russia and might have to escape to Russia at some point (and I'm not saying that Snowden is a Russian spy.) Don't you think that US already offered Russia a ton of deals for Snowden? They turned them down because it would severely damage Russia's reputation. It's really a non-starter. Diplomats won't even waste time trying to negotiate extradition anymore because it's pointless. Another refrain that I hear is "if Putin is deposed and a new West-friendly government is installed, they will extradite Snowden". Again, zero chance of that happening. Even if new Russian gov becomes best friends with US, Snowden will not be extradited for the same reasons explained above. And by the way, if the roles were reversed and some Russian leaker managed to escape to the US, there would be exactly zero chance that US would ever extradite them back to Russia. That's why Russia will never extradite him either. >Obama will not pardon him, and I don't think either of the presumptive presidential nominees are big Snowden fans. I completely agree with this point. There's about 1-5% chance that Obama will pardon him. Obama has prosecuted more leakers than anyone else in history. Also, pardoning Snowden would send a horrible message to potential future 'Snowdens'. Whole intelligence community would revolt if he was to get a presidential pardon. >and he will eventually pay for that damage with his life. Again, extremely low chance of that happening. US and Russia have a gentleman's agreement that they will not kill each others' spies and traitors who escaped. If Snowden is ever offered a deal by DoJ, it will have to involve jail time. Say they offer him 5 years in a low-security prison, would he take it? Of course not. He is with his common law wife and will probably end up having children. A deal that hinges on him spending years in prison is not something he will ever take. Gen Hayden believes that Snowden will forever remain in Russia and when he dies, it will be of natural causes or old age. I completely agree with him. Snowden will never set foot on US soil again.
- downandout 10y ago
  >Again, extremely low chance of that happening. US and Russia have a gentleman's agreement that they will not kill each others' spies and traitors who escaped. Life in prison is losing your life - it's just a much slower execution than the traditional methods. There is no parole in the federal system; life is life. > That's a complete fantasy. It's not a fantasy of mine. But I do believe that governments do things for their own purposes, and could care less if one more American spends the rest of their life in prison. If and when it becomes politically convenient or necessary, they'll simply revoke his asylum and deport him. If Snowden is ever offered a deal by DoJ, it will have to involve jail time. Say they offer him 5 years in a low-security prison, would he take it? The DOJ would never offer a deal for 5 or even 20 years, because it would undermine the message they want to send to others contemplating similar actions. If he sets foot in the US, voluntarily or not, he's going down for life.
Zhenya 10y ago
It's not underground: "The majority of the facility is above ground. The only part that is underground is a subterranean corridor that links cellblocks to the lobby." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence

SXX 10y ago

Not before Putin's regime disappear or unless Snowden himself start to become danger. I don't believe Putin will trade him under any circumstances. More likely you'll see Crimea traded. Asylum for Snowden it's wasn't just foreign policy act, but more act for Russian elites: we provided asylum for almost #1 on US list and we he is safe. Whole regime built on rule that any loyal person in elites is safe no matter if he's murderer, pedophile or any other kind of criminal. Just think about Magnitsky case. It's was just a bunch of criminals who wasn't even part of Russian elite, but Putin didn't betrayed them even after it was clear that would cause significantly damage to whole county economy. So giving Snowden would sent signal to elites that they and their capitals no longer safe. It's would be deathly for regime.

rangibaby 10y ago
Yes, it has been the case since Khrushchev was deposed that Russian elites have been allowed to retire instead of being murdered. Great point.
SXX 10y ago
Too many typos. Sorry.

gbuk2013 10y ago

One way to make sure this does not happen is for him to apply for Russian citizenship - extraditing a Russian citizen is forbidden by the constitution. I'm sure it is not something he really wants to do, but it's not like his US citizenship does much for him now anyway.

Jerry2 10y ago

>I imagine that eventually Snowden will wind up serving a life sentence in the underground supermax facility in Florence, Colorado whether he comes voluntarily or not - Russia will eventually use him as a bargaining chip in some trade negotiation, and that will be the end of him. I think it's wrong, but that outcome is almost inevitable at some point. That's a complete fantasy. Snowden will never be used as a bargaining chip. It would send a terrible message to people who are currently spying for Russia and might have to escape to Russia at some point (and I'm not saying that Snowden is a Russian spy.) Don't you think that US already offered Russia a ton of deals for Snowden? They turned them down because it would severely damage Russia's reputation. It's really a non-starter. Diplomats won't even waste time trying to negotiate extradition anymore because it's pointless. Another refrain that I hear is "if Putin is deposed and a new West-friendly government is installed, they will extradite Snowden". Again, zero chance of that happening. Even if new Russian gov becomes best friends with US, Snowden will not be extradited for the same reasons explained above. And by the way, if the roles were reversed and some Russian leaker managed to escape to the US, there would be exactly zero chance that US would ever extradite them back to Russia. That's why Russia will never extradite him either. >Obama will not pardon him, and I don't think either of the presumptive presidential nominees are big Snowden fans. I completely agree with this point. There's about 1-5% chance that Obama will pardon him. Obama has prosecuted more leakers than anyone else in history. Also, pardoning Snowden would send a horrible message to potential future 'Snowdens'. Whole intelligence community would revolt if he was to get a presidential pardon. >and he will eventually pay for that damage with his life. Again, extremely low chance of that happening. US and Russia have a gentleman's agreement that they will not kill each others' spies and traitors who escaped. If Snowden is ever offered a deal by DoJ, it will have to involve jail time. Say they offer him 5 years in a low-security prison, would he take it? Of course not. He is with his common law wife and will probably end up having children. A deal that hinges on him spending years in prison is not something he will ever take. Gen Hayden believes that Snowden will forever remain in Russia and when he dies, it will be of natural causes or old age. I completely agree with him. Snowden will never set foot on US soil again.

downandout 10y ago
>Again, extremely low chance of that happening. US and Russia have a gentleman's agreement that they will not kill each others' spies and traitors who escaped. Life in prison is losing your life - it's just a much slower execution than the traditional methods. There is no parole in the federal system; life is life. > That's a complete fantasy. It's not a fantasy of mine. But I do believe that governments do things for their own purposes, and could care less if one more American spends the rest of their life in prison. If and when it becomes politically convenient or necessary, they'll simply revoke his asylum and deport him. If Snowden is ever offered a deal by DoJ, it will have to involve jail time. Say they offer him 5 years in a low-security prison, would he take it? The DOJ would never offer a deal for 5 or even 20 years, because it would undermine the message they want to send to others contemplating similar actions. If he sets foot in the US, voluntarily or not, he's going down for life.

Zhenya 10y ago

It's not underground: "The majority of the facility is above ground. The only part that is underground is a subterranean corridor that links cellblocks to the lobby." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence