Whistleblower or traitor? Readers split over Rep. Justin Amash's remarks on NSA leaker



U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, right, said on Fox News Sunday that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is a "whistleblower," not a traitor, as critics have suggested.

(MLive.com File Photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — There was quite the back-and-forth between MLive readers about whether National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is a traitor.

Some sided with U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, who said on Fox News Sunday that, "as far as Congress is concerned," Snowden is a "whistleblower."

That term, generally reserved for those who expose damaging corporate or governmental secrets for the greater good, didn't sit well with others, who berated Snowden's action.

And some straddled a fence, claiming Snowden was both a whistleblower and a traitor.

Comments poured in by the hundred on MLive, and a spirited debate also ensued on the Grand Rapids Press and MLive Facebook pages.

There was a clear divide between supporters and critics of Snowden's leaking details of a covert phone records spying program to the foreign press earlier this summer.

Snowden recently gained a year of political asylum in Russia, prompting debate on whether he is a whistleblower, a traitor or the like.

In the "whistleblower" camp:

jvh679: "Whistleblower? Yes, but first and foremost, a hero!"

Darwinian Karma: "We live in a country where the Police can lie to you, but you can't lie to them. We have a Government that is dishonest at almost every level. We are spied upon (for our own good they tell us). We are under surveillance almost every moment we are outside our homes (Photo tracking of license plates, cameras)If you're okay with that, well, then you probably think of Snowden as a traitor. But, if you think the government has taken too many liberties, with 'Our' LIBERTY, well, you probably think he's a Whistleblower. Or, perhaps even a Patriot!"

starr36: "Whistle Blower for sure. Probably broke some laws and if we every get him back we should try him. Where is the outrage that we are being spied upon by our own Government or that our Government forced Benghazi knowledgable employees to sign NDA's (non-disclosure agreement) so they will not reveal the real truth. The liberals blindly accept whatever the administration bozos tell them."

In the "traitor" camp:

timeforsanity: "Anyone who releases information on a secret security program that was designed to protect the USA from terror attacks is a traitor. When a congressman calls a guy like this a whistleblower, it's time for an election..."

1Patrio1: "People who commenting on this article that take the position that Snowden is a whistleblower, are also in many cases making him out to be a hero. He could have been a hero if he had gone about it properly. However, any American citizen who leaks national security information to any foreign press is a traitor. The information that he revealed needed to come to light but not in that manner."

Sgt.Rock: "I'm a big supporter of Amash, but he might be off on this one."

In the "uncertain" or "both" camp:

deleted: "He might be a whistleblower in the sense that he disclosed classified information, but there are probably better ways to blow the whistle than to go to China and Russia."

Louis DeVries: "He's both. A whistleblower for bringing forward something he believed, with legitimate cause, that the government was doing wrong. If he'd gone to Justin Amash or a federal judge or a reporter, all he'd be is a whistleblower. But he is now also a traitor for providing useful information to our al Qaeda enemies and for carrying four laptops of classified material to China and Russia where both countries could learn about our international intercept program."

From Facebook:

Blaine Ubelhor: "He was trying to show American citizens the corruption and over stepping of the NSA. He's an American hero. Those of you who call him a traitor should be ashamed of yourselves. He is a whistleblower, standing up for our rights."

Chris Mandoka: "If he stayed, he's a whistleblower, if he fled the county and sought asylum in the former USSR, he's a traitor..."