I'm not sure about "irresponsible," unless you mean in the sense that he might impact his own future earnings and jeopardize his kids' college education etc. O

I'm not sure about "irresponsible," unless you mean in the sense that he might impact his own future earnings and jeopardize his kids' college education etc. On the other hand, if he honestly felt that Snowden did the right thing but is saying the opposite in order to keep his job intact, you could say there's a different kind of "irresponsible" going on. Hypothetical: Should prospective S/TS clearance recipients be asked if they would reveal classified information if they thought that NOT revealing it would undermine the Constitution? It would be similar to asking a prospective soldier whether he or she would obey an order from the Commander in Chief that clearly violated the Constitution (e.g. "assassinate the Speaker of the House"). Such questions just aren't asked; but that's the question Snowden asked and resoundingly answered.