Giving an interview to 58-year-old Yahoo News anchor Katie Couric at a hidden site in Moscow, 33-year-old self-declared “whistleblower” Eric Snowden insisted there’s dual form of justice in the U.S.: One for the rich-and-famous and one for everyone else. Snowden, who worked for National Security Agency [NSA] contractor Booz Allen Hamiliton in Honolulu, fled Hawaii May 20, 2013 with thumb-drives in hand after stealing NSA data on the government’s covert spying program. Sworn to secrecy, Snowden stole government property, violated the U.S. Espionage Act and fled U.S. justice, ending up June 23, 2013 in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. Justice Department officials charged Snowden June 14, 2013 with violating the 1917 U.S. Espionage Act before fleeing the country. U.S. officials got no cooperation from Hong Kong to deny Snowden travel to Moscow.
On June 24, 2013 one day after landing in Moscow, the State Department revoked Snowden’s U.S. passport, leaving him unable to travel or seek asylum from other countries. Snowden fled the U.S. because the White House expected Snowden to return to America and face charges for violating the Espionage Act. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney asked Snowden to “face charges brought against him for the unauthorized leaking of classified information.” Snowden capitalized on deteriorated U.S.-Russian relations prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin Aug. 6, 2014 to grant Snowden temporary asylum, requiring him to not leak more classified information. State Department officials believe Snowden was debriefed by FSB [formerly KGB], learning much of the NSA classified material. Snowden fled the country to avoid charges for violating the U.S. Espionage Act.
Backed by left-wing sympathizers in the press and civil liberties establishment, Snowden sold himself as a heroic “whistleblower,” daring to expose the government’s egregious violations of the First Amendment. Stealing the classified material from Booz Allen Hamilton, Snowden hoped he could blackmail the government before learning former Atty. Gen. Eric Holder intended to prosecute the fugitive for violating U.S. laws protecting classified information. Snowden has the nerve the compare himself to former CIA Director Four-Star General David Petraeus who was forced to resign as CIA Director Nov. 7, 2012 because of sharing classified information with his biographer and paramour Paula Broadwell. Petraus pleaded guilty March 13, 2015 to misdemeanor for removing classified material from his government office, accepting a $100,000 fine and two years probation for his actions.
Snowden claims Petraeus revealed, “information that was far more highly classified that I ever did,” using U.S. media to beg President Barack Obama for a pardon. When you consider Broadwell was Petraeus’s personal biographer, it’s inconceivable he was charged with anything. National Intelligence Director James Clapper pressured Petraeus into resigning Nov. 8, 2012, without giving Petraeus enough time to defend his actions. Petraeu’s intimate relationship led to his sharing of classified information but only because she was also his personal biographer. One of the most decorated generals of his generation, forcing Petraeus out of the CIA hurt U.S. national security. Few civilians or military personnel have Petraeus’s knowledge of the military, foreign affairs, national security or counter-terrorism, something sorely missed since his resignation Nov. 9, 2012 from public service
Snowden was a lowly NSA contractor when he violated his confidentiality agreement with Booz Allen Hamilton, downloading classified NSA documents on several thumb-drives. Snowden told Yahoo News Katie Couric in Moscow that Petraeu’s proves there’s “a two-tiered system of justice in the United States, where people who are either well connected to government or they have access to an incredible amount of resources get very light punishments.” Snowden cites Petraeus as a prime example. Unlike Snowden, Petraeus paid a draconic price for sharing classified material with his personal confidant. Snowden released classified material to the press for public consumption, nothing like Petraeus. Petraeus didn’t flee the U.S. justice system but faced it square on and accepted his punishment. Snowden thinks because Petraeus didn’t go to jail, he received preferential treatment.
Showing support for Petreaus during the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump compared Petreaus to former Democratic nominee Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Trump believed Petraeus violated U.S. laws related to classified information far less than Hillary while she was Secretary of State. Trump sees nothing in Petraeus’s background that would exclude him from top consideration for Secretary of State. “When the government came after him, they charged him with a misdemeanor,” Snowden told Couric. “He never spent a single day in jail, despite the type of classified information he exposed,” excusing himself from fleeing U.S. justice. Snowden can’t know anything about a “two-tiered” justice system because he’s a fugitive, exploiting bad U.S.-Russian relations to escape charges. Asking Obama for a pardon shows how far Snowden has gone over the deep-end.
