8 ms·
Trump: 'A lot of people' think Edward Snowden 'not being treated fairly'
- Barrin92 6y ago>In a 2013 tweet, Trump wrote: “Snowden is a spy who should be executed-but if it and he could reveal Obama’s records, I might become a major fan.” good god, that's one of the most Trumpish Trump tweets ever.
- _prototype_ 6y agosource?
- kube-system 6y agoIt's the final line in the article
- lultimouomo 6y agoThe article, which links to the tweet. Anyway: https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/395683702757662721 https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/39568370275766272...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- MaysonL 6y agohttps://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/395683702757662721 https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/39568370275766272...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- markus_zhang 6y ago"The Art of Deal"
- squarefoot 6y agoHe's the same guy who endorsed the use of hydroxychloroquine as Covid-19 treatment by falsely claiming that it was safe and the FDA had approved it, and at least one person died after following his advice, so no surprise at all. He says what at the moment brings more approval without any care of the consequences. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2020/03/23/man-dead-from-taking-chloroquine-after-trump-touts-drug-for-coronavirus/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2020/03/23/man-dead-... ps. to 45' fanboys: a nice side effect of facts is that they don't disappear along with the posts reporting them, so happy clicketyclicking; I've plenty of karma to burn and too much grey matter to give a damn about it.
- 0-O-0 6y ago> at least one person died after following his advice Correction: at least one democrat donor murdered her husband and used that advice as an excuse [1]. [1] https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/homicide-cops-investigate-death-of-man-who-drank-chloroquine/ https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/homicide-cops-investigate-deat...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- jhawk28 6y agoI don't think drinking fish tank cleaner constitutes following his advice.
- Covzire 6y agoMore Darwinism at work than anything, but there was also some suspicion she murdered him. I can't shake this feeling that, just like the lies we were told about masks in order to stop the public from gobbling them all up, like they did with toilet paper, we're being lied to the same way with HCQ in order to protect the supply for the non-peasant classes. On one side there is a shrill loud voice saying it's foolish to take it, it's less than useless, etc, and on the other side there are multiple studies showing it is/was useful if used in a particular way. I have little Karma to burn but do as you will.
- dorkwood 6y agoIs this article only three short paragraphs long, or is something not being displayed somewhere?
- everythingswan 6y agoI see about 10-12 paragraph indents, although short, so it might be an issue on your end. NYPost does have an intense number of ads so perhaps a blocker issue?
- bdamm 6y agoWell, he's right. Maybe this is Snowden's chance, I wonder if he'll file another plea for immunity. Clearly Trump's election strategy should be to paint the Democrats as pawns of the deep state whereas he is not, and freeing Snowden would play well with that narrative.
- mc32 6y agoIntelligence services used to be unassailable. They did the dirty work for the country (and admittedly it’s a necessary thing in an unfair world), but a couple of major problems are: they are often wrong in very bad ways: Russian missile crisis, power of the late USSR where Reagan has to seek advice from DoD instead, gulf war II and then the internal and political spying (remember they were caught spying on congress?)
- BitwiseFool 6y agoI'm generally distrustful of intelligence agencies because they are literally designed to carry out underhanded and deceptive operations. If you go back and read old WWII and Cold War declassified documents you can clearly see a lot of "ends justify the means" operations. I've never understood why we hold these agencies in such high regard. I guess because they're supposed to be on 'our side'?
- mc32 6y agoUnfortunately one can’t unilaterally be “the nice guy” and hope everyone else will decide, “yeah, let’s all be nice guys”. It doesn’t happen. So everyone who wants a more level playing field for themselves has to engage.
- ideals 6y agoLots of movies showing how great these secret spy agencies are and all the cool stuff they do has really helped shaped the public's image
- gnramires 6y agoI've read recently a discussion on the Roman Praetorian guard. The gist seemed to be that Roman Emperors were largely at their whim -- sometimes they would decide to kill the emperor for no good reason. Any kind of rogue unchecked power is a disaster waiting to happen (because they can yield their power in self-interest or in various irresponsible ways). See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorian_Guard#Severan_dynasty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorian_Guard#Severan_dynas... They went as far as auctioning the emperor title at one time!
- nabla9 6y ago... Now, THEREFORE, I, DONALD JOHN TRUMP , President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Edward Joseph Snowden for all offenses against the United States which he, Edward Joseph Snowden, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from March 1, 2007 through August 14, 2020. ...
- mc32 6y agoIf that were to happen I can imagine at least some people who were for his pardon in ‘14 would denounce the pardon if it came to be.
- atonse 6y agoI'd welcome it, even at the hands of Trump. It's as valid. And I'd give Trump credit for it, whether he did it of sound mind or not. Facts are facts.
- happytoexplain 6y agoOf course, given any absurd position, you can find somebody who holds it, so the implication of targeting one such position would be that, unlike the others, its representation is non-negligible. I disagree in this example - this seems like the invention of specifically irrational people for the purpose of mocking whatever broader group you perceive them to be a part of. However, what you would certainly find are people not just discussing Trump's hypocrisy/inconsistency, which is a valid opinion, but also people overly focusing on it to the overshadowing of Snowden's freedom.
- mc32 6y agoIf he does do it I think it potentially puts Biden in a tough spot. Biden would have to denounce it (since he was part of the team that wanted him), but that’s contra what lots of libertarians and some leftists would favor vis a vis exposure of government overreach into citizens’s private data. It would be deft but also political, but then again what politician doesn’t make political moves, including interventionist wars?
- bovermyer 6y agoThat sounds suspiciously like he's considering pardoning Snowden. Also... going from calling for Snowden's execution to potentially pardoning him is one hell of a 180.
- nabla9 6y agoDoing 180 requires some direction, principle or policy. Trump's just says something random to get into news or test of it would make him more popular. https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2016/06/04/it-ought-to-be-common-knowledge-that-donald-trump-is-not-fit-for-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-of-america/ https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2016/06/04/it-ought-to-be-com...
- dragonwriter 6y ago> That sounds suspiciously like he's considering pardoning Snowden. It sounds suspiciously like he's doing the “say provocative but noncommittal things referencing subjects of controversy as a distraction from other controversies over concrete policies” thing he does, on average, on more than a daily basis. Meanwhile, the plot to cancel public voting in the Presidential election and substitute legislature-selected electors in sufficient Republican-governed swing states to guarantee Trump reelection has already passed the “provide a public pretext” stage with Trump’s handpicked leadership at USPS, after dismantling capacity to produce widely publicized mailing delays, following up by notifying states that the Postal Service’s “delivery standards” do not support completing delivery and return of ballots on the timelines required for mailing voting (with the first part of the pretext provided by the pandemics impact on safety and public confidence in in-person voting), leaving only the obvious legislative action as a remaining step. > Also... going from calling for Snowden's execution to potentially pardoning him is one hell of a 180. The President always had the potential to pardon anyone for actual, charged, or potential and uncharged federal crimes. There's no transition, much less a 180, to “potential”.
- Shivetya 6y agoI would love him to do so. We really need another wake up call in this country that the government routinely lies to us and that trusting our officials requires them proving they can be trusted. Remember, Snowden has been out of this country since May of 2013 and the last Administration did not pardon him but instead did pardon Manning whose actions were more reckless. It really comes down to the fact Snowden really stepped on the toes of some big time political players who are not used to being called out.
- Miner49er 6y agoA member of Congress (Thomas Massie - U.S. Rep KY) tweeted that Trump should pardon Snowden this morning as well: https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1294252331131904002 https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/12942523311319040...
- marta_morena_25 6y ago:D Hilarious. This is just Trump in a nutshell. Imagine your kid in a few years, when they have a school lecture about "worst US presidents in history", then all you need to do is show them this page and they will know it all... This single post has everything: * Completely incoherent language and sentences that make zero sense and repeat themselves several times * Trump basing legal arguments for a pardon on "a lot of people like him" and basing the difference of "execute this guy" on "well if he does me a favor, I would be a huge fan, if not, let's kill this motherfu" * Making completely absurd comparisons to his own history to "prove" his point. Things happened to him too you know, he can relate... He can relate
- mrfusion 6y agoWhy now?
- lcfcjs2 6y agoHe got some dirt on orange grandpa.
- protomyth 6y agoWell, if you start to think that there is something seriously wrong with State and the CIA, and they hate Snowden then you might want to consider that maybe you should look at the whole thing differently. Plus, he has some Republicans telling him to pardon Snowden.
- Alupis 6y agoThat, and enough time has passed with Snowden in exile that it still carries the message the Intelligence Community wanted sent - ie. don't do this! So, bringing him back to the US and pardoning him with "time served in exile", might be sufficient to make it more acceptable to a broader audience versus a 2014 pardon.
- e15ctr0n 6y agoPresidents usually start thinking about pardons at the end of their term. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_pardons_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_pardons_in_the_United_...
- HumblyTossed 6y agoTrump is about to catch a lot of heat for messing with the USPS. This is him trying to put out something controversial so that the lame media will bite on that instead. Also, Trump projects. Like, a lot. So I wonder if this might be telling in that respect as well. Edit: I'm going to double down. Trump is setting things up so that he can say the election is corrupt due to China and our spy agencies are not to be believed when they say "nope", thus tying up the election in courts as long as possible. I think he believes that come Jan 20, if no President is officially declared, that he'll just stay President. Or at least he and Barr believe they can challenge that.
- reeealloc 6y agoCan someone explain why the GOP wants this? Isn't Snowden a disaster for them?
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoIn no particular order. 1) Trump is very much not of fan of the sorts of shadowy warrant-less surveillance that snowed exposed (because he feels it was used against him) so this could be a dig at that apparatus. 2) Obama didn't pardon him despite doing so being far more popular on the left than right (at least up until present, no telling what will happen going forward) and this could force Biden in a tricky situation especially with the current public opinion situation 3) Snowden is controversial on the right (the anti-government crowd loves him) so this might be a move to strengthen his appearance among the fraction of the party who are alarmed by his authoritarian tendencies (cue joke about an NY Democrat in Republican's clothing). 4) His advisors who are paid to think about this stuff 40+hr a week have thought of something I haven't.
- Alupis 6y ago> because he feels it was used against him It's seeming like this is quickly turning from a "he feels it was used against him" into an unequivocal "it was used against him".
- derision 6y agoI've seen more than enough evidence through the reports and proceedings on FISA abuse ala Carter Page and Peter Strzok that I'm convinced it was definitely used against him, during and after the election.
- yc3po 6y agoHe would secure the presidency for himself if he pardoned him.
- Whatarethese 6y agoTrump is such an idiot. I cant wait to see how history portrays him.
- ghthor 6y agoHe will go down as one of the greats.
- solarkraft 6y agoHas anyone discovered a pattern in what Trump likes and dislikes yet?
- dr-smooth 6y agoexpediency
- JPKab 6y agoWhy is this flagged?
- JohnTHaller 6y agoPossibly for including Trump's go-to 'a lot of people'?
- hirundo 6y agoDear President Trump: Please 1. Pardon Snowden 2. Commission a statue of him, perhaps to replace Columbus on a plinth somewhere 3. Award him the Medal of Freedom 4. Appoint him as the Director of the National Security Agency In return I'll vote for you. Such a deal.