6 ms·

This may actually be good news. Somebody might have determined that it's not worth the political cost to prosecute him publicly, so they'll press civil charges,

This may actually be good news. Somebody might have determined that it's not worth the political cost to prosecute him publicly, so they'll press civil charges, slowly make the criminal stuff go away, then it becomes a "normal" lawsuit instead of such a hot potato. (I am freely speculating here)

dooglius 7y ago
"The lawsuit also names as nominal defendants the corporate entities involved in publishing Snowden’s book. The United States is suing the publisher solely to ensure that no funds are transferred to Snowden, or at his direction, while the court resolves the United States’ claims. Snowden is currently living outside of the United States." This is the actual goal here.
- DannyB2 7y ago
  Could Snowden hire a US lawyer to represent him? Snowden does not necessarily have to appear in court along side his advocate. If the US demands he appear in court, his lawyer could motion to allow Snowden to appear by tele-presence. After all, defendants in jail appear in court that way. There are legitimate practical reasons Snowden cannot physically appear.
  - dooglius 7y ago
    Why would he bother? I'm sure his publishers have their own lawyers.
- ryacko 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shaffer_(intelligence_officer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shaffer_(intelligence_... >Shaffer published memoirs of his time as a reports officer in Afghanistan in book titled Operation Dark Heart. Shaffer claims that the Defense Department attempted to preserve secrecy of revelations made by the book, by buying up and destroying all 10,000 copies of the book's first, uncensored run, before allowing for the release of a second, censored printing. Only Shaffer himself has offered this version of events, which are not in keeping with Department of Defense policies on the public release of sensitive information in print. . Yes, if the goal was to censor the book, the US would have tried to destroy all copies of it.
  - smnrchrds 7y ago
    That makes no logical sense in the age of ebooks. No matter how many copies of the ebook version they buy, the publisher could sell more to anyone who wants to buy one.
  - citilife 7y ago
    I have one that was just delivered to my house today... so fail on that one.
- crb002 7y ago
  Wouldn't surprise me if Snowden has the publisher donate the proceeds to the FSF as a screw you.
- toyg 7y ago
  A day late and a dollar short, as always. Snowden already got paid a pretty good advance, and a lot of the profits abroad likely won't even enter the US. This is just petty bureaucrats trying to justify their pointless jobs.
henryfjordan 7y ago
Lol, Snowden can't be prosecuted publicly because he's hanging out in Russia. If he got on a plane back to the US today he'd be in front of judge for a plea hearing tomorrow. This is the exact opposite of what you suggest. Someone has such a motivation for "justice" and can't put him in jail, so they want to deprive him of the profits for his book.
- ianhawes 7y ago
  Agreed, there is most likely a sealed federal indictment in his name. The part that isn't accurate is that he will almost certainly be held without bail. The government will argue he is a flight risk, and the judge will certainly agree - he will be in jail until his trial.
  - khuey 7y ago
    It's not sealed, he was indicted in 2013.
jacquesm 7y ago
No, this is the only way Snowden can be hurt today. If other avenues open you can bet they will be immediately exploited. Mannings treatment spells volumes here and what they did to Manning will be a walk in the park (in no way diminishing it) compared to what they'll do to Snowden.
- toyg 7y ago
  > this is the only way Snowden can be hurt today. Lol, he won't be: he's already pocketed a pretty sizeable advance. The man thinks ahead, unlike the petty bureaucrats he enraged.
deleted 7y ago
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dooglius 7y ago

"The lawsuit also names as nominal defendants the corporate entities involved in publishing Snowden’s book. The United States is suing the publisher solely to ensure that no funds are transferred to Snowden, or at his direction, while the court resolves the United States’ claims. Snowden is currently living outside of the United States." This is the actual goal here.

DannyB2 7y ago
Could Snowden hire a US lawyer to represent him? Snowden does not necessarily have to appear in court along side his advocate. If the US demands he appear in court, his lawyer could motion to allow Snowden to appear by tele-presence. After all, defendants in jail appear in court that way. There are legitimate practical reasons Snowden cannot physically appear.
- dooglius 7y ago
  Why would he bother? I'm sure his publishers have their own lawyers.
ryacko 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shaffer_(intelligence_officer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shaffer_(intelligence_... >Shaffer published memoirs of his time as a reports officer in Afghanistan in book titled Operation Dark Heart. Shaffer claims that the Defense Department attempted to preserve secrecy of revelations made by the book, by buying up and destroying all 10,000 copies of the book's first, uncensored run, before allowing for the release of a second, censored printing. Only Shaffer himself has offered this version of events, which are not in keeping with Department of Defense policies on the public release of sensitive information in print. . Yes, if the goal was to censor the book, the US would have tried to destroy all copies of it.
- smnrchrds 7y ago
  That makes no logical sense in the age of ebooks. No matter how many copies of the ebook version they buy, the publisher could sell more to anyone who wants to buy one.
- citilife 7y ago
  I have one that was just delivered to my house today... so fail on that one.
crb002 7y ago
Wouldn't surprise me if Snowden has the publisher donate the proceeds to the FSF as a screw you.
toyg 7y ago
A day late and a dollar short, as always. Snowden already got paid a pretty good advance, and a lot of the profits abroad likely won't even enter the US. This is just petty bureaucrats trying to justify their pointless jobs.

henryfjordan 7y ago

Lol, Snowden can't be prosecuted publicly because he's hanging out in Russia. If he got on a plane back to the US today he'd be in front of judge for a plea hearing tomorrow. This is the exact opposite of what you suggest. Someone has such a motivation for "justice" and can't put him in jail, so they want to deprive him of the profits for his book.

ianhawes 7y ago
Agreed, there is most likely a sealed federal indictment in his name. The part that isn't accurate is that he will almost certainly be held without bail. The government will argue he is a flight risk, and the judge will certainly agree - he will be in jail until his trial.
- khuey 7y ago
  It's not sealed, he was indicted in 2013.

jacquesm 7y ago

No, this is the only way Snowden can be hurt today. If other avenues open you can bet they will be immediately exploited. Mannings treatment spells volumes here and what they did to Manning will be a walk in the park (in no way diminishing it) compared to what they'll do to Snowden.

toyg 7y ago
> this is the only way Snowden can be hurt today. Lol, he won't be: he's already pocketed a pretty sizeable advance. The man thinks ahead, unlike the petty bureaucrats he enraged.

deleted 7y ago

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