Home / Quotes / Quote by Edward Snowden

Quote by Edward Snowden

“The only way I could be extradited is through the principle of what my lawyers call "politics trumps law."”

Quote by Edward Snowden

Author

Edward Snowden, born on June 21, 1983, is a system administrator. He is renowned for his disclosure of the global surveillance programs of the United States National Security Agency (NSA). In 2013, he leaked a large number of documents about these programs, which sparked widespread international attention. more

You May Also Like

“If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political crime. A political crime, in legal terms, is defined as any crime against a state, as opposed to against an individual. Assassination, for example, is not a political crime because you've killed a person, an individual, and they've been harmed; their family's been harmed. But the state itself, you can't be extradited for harming it.”

Ifs Persons States Law Political Individual Term Crime Example Defined Espionage Assassination Quintessential

Author:Edward Snowden

“Chelsea Manning got thirty-five years in prison, while I'm still free.”

Years Stills Five Prison Thirty Five Years Chelsea

Author:Edward Snowden

“I talk to people in the ACLU office in New York all the time. I'm able to participate in the debate and to campaign for reform. I'm just the first to come forward in the manner that I did and succeed.”

People Firsts Able New York Succeed Office Campaigns Debate Reform

Author:Edward Snowden

“When governments go too far to punish people for actions that are dissent rather than a real threat to the nation, they risk delegitimizing not just their systems of justice, but the legitimacy of the government itself. Because when they bring political charges against people for acts that were clearly at least intended to work in the public interest, they deny them the opportunity to mount a public-interest defense.”

People Real Government Action Political Opportunity Nations Interest Justice Risk Threat Deny Defense Dissent Legitimacy Public Interest

Author:Edward Snowden

“The charges [government] brought against me, for example, explicitly denied my ability to make a public-interest defense.”

Government Interest Ability Example Defense Denied Public Interest

Author:Edward Snowden

“There were no whistleblower protections that would've protected me - and that's known to everybody in the intelligence community. There are no proper channels for making this information available when the system fails comprehensively.”

Community Known Failing Information Available Protection Protected Intelligence Community Whistleblowers

Author:Edward Snowden

“The government would assert that individuals who are aware of serious wrongdoing in the intelligence community should bring their concerns to the people most responsible for that wrongdoing, and rely on those people to correct the problems that those people themselves authorized.”

People Should Problem Government Individual Community Serious Concern Responsible Rely Wrongdoing Intelligence Community

Author:Edward Snowden

“Going all the way back to Daniel Ellsberg, it is clear that the government is not concerned with damage to national security, because in none of these cases was there damage.”

Way Government Cases Clear Security Concerned Damage National Security

Author:Edward Snowden

“At the trial of Chelsea Manning, the government could point to no case of specific damage that had been caused by the massive revelation of classified information. The charges are a reaction to the government's embarrassment more than genuine concern about these activities, or they would substantiate what harms were done.”

Done Government Cases Information Activity Concern Harm Genuine Trials Reactions Damage Revelations Massive Embarrassment Chelsea Classified Information Genuine Concern

Author:Edward Snowden

“We're now more than a year since my NSA revelations, and despite numerous hours of testimony before Congress, despite tons of off-the-record quotes from anonymous officials who have an ax to grind, not a single US official, not a single representative of the United States government, has ever pointed to a single case of individualized harm caused by these revelations. This, despite the fact that former NSA director Keith Alexander said this would cause grave and irrevocable harm to the nation.”