3 ms·

What would be the legality of sending Snowden money? He's been charged with a crime and donations would enable him to live outside the country. Isn't that aidin

What would be the legality of sending Snowden money? He's been charged with a crime and donations would enable him to live outside the country. Isn't that aiding and abetting a fugitive?

sillysaurus2 13y ago
The bare truth is "almost certainly."
- ygra 13y ago
  Would that be relevant to people outside the US, though? I guess they cannot legally go around, charging people with aiding a fugitive, all over the world. (Or maybe that's just overly naïve on my part)
  - saraid216 13y ago
    It basically depends on the country and your personal situation. If you're the kind of person the US gov't would be interested in going after, then you probably shouldn't donate, as it's an extra and arguably unnecessary vulnerability to an offense pinnable to you. It's a risk assessment. If you're not sure, then I'd say it's unlikely you need to worry. For me personally, for instance, even if a donation would put me on some watch list, it actually wouldn't change anything in my life or my anticipated plans.
  - jamesaguilar 13y ago
    They can charge you, but they probably can't (practically) come and get you. Whether they would bother is another question entirely (ans: probably not, unless you brought it to their attention via some other mechanism).
  - copx 13y ago
    I do not think the US government would bother to try to prosecute that. It is just not worth the resulting diplomatic drama. I think right now the Obama administration is happy that people are starting to forget about the whole affair. The NSA's mass surveillance program is still on and it seems now accepted as the new normal. Ultimately Snowden has failed. He exposed the program but the resulting outrage was not strong enough to bring it down. In fact, now that the US government got away with this they will probably get even more extreme in future..
- baddox 13y ago
  And what about his lawyers, or his parents, or anyone else that gives him any sort of support?

What would be the legality of sending Snowden money? He's been charged with a crime and donations would enable him to live outside the country. Isn't that aiding and abetting a fugitive?

sillysaurus2 13y ago

The bare truth is "almost certainly."

ygra 13y ago
Would that be relevant to people outside the US, though? I guess they cannot legally go around, charging people with aiding a fugitive, all over the world. (Or maybe that's just overly naïve on my part)
- saraid216 13y ago
  It basically depends on the country and your personal situation. If you're the kind of person the US gov't would be interested in going after, then you probably shouldn't donate, as it's an extra and arguably unnecessary vulnerability to an offense pinnable to you. It's a risk assessment. If you're not sure, then I'd say it's unlikely you need to worry. For me personally, for instance, even if a donation would put me on some watch list, it actually wouldn't change anything in my life or my anticipated plans.
- jamesaguilar 13y ago
  They can charge you, but they probably can't (practically) come and get you. Whether they would bother is another question entirely (ans: probably not, unless you brought it to their attention via some other mechanism).
- copx 13y ago
  I do not think the US government would bother to try to prosecute that. It is just not worth the resulting diplomatic drama. I think right now the Obama administration is happy that people are starting to forget about the whole affair. The NSA's mass surveillance program is still on and it seems now accepted as the new normal. Ultimately Snowden has failed. He exposed the program but the resulting outrage was not strong enough to bring it down. In fact, now that the US government got away with this they will probably get even more extreme in future..
baddox 13y ago
And what about his lawyers, or his parents, or anyone else that gives him any sort of support?