Friday evening we suggested-- tongue firmly in cheek-- not being mean to the brutal Russian dictator. Dictator and murderer. Many putatively-leftish intellectuals have felt some kind of naive kinship with Putin because he offered refuge to Ed Snowden. I have been grateful myself, though never for a moment childish enough to not understand that Putin's motives were anything but self-serving... generally the motivation for anything a head of state does.Putin's "generosity" towards Snowden was a way of sticking his thumb in Obama's eye while making himself look vaguely progressivish and humanitarianish-- a joke to anyone who knows anything at all about Vladimir Putin, one of history's most egregious and ruthless kleptocrats. He and Trump are a match made in Heaven. While Obama was still president, DWT was one of several blog begging him to pardon Snowden if, for no other reason, to take away a weapon Putin would have in terms of Trump. In late November we wrote that we were worried that Putin "will turn Ed Snowden over to Trumpanzee the first time el Presidente Pepe The Frog needs a rabbit to pull out of a hat." Has that time arrived already?After all, Trump's approval rating seems to be in freefall and the percentage of people who want to see him impeached is likely to pass a solid majority by spring. He's losing and losing and losing. Everything he puts his deformed little hands to, turns to shit. How about a nice show trial for "the traitor?" Yesterday NBC News reported it could be in the works.
U.S. intelligence has collected information that Russia is considering turning over Edward Snowden as a "gift" to President Donald Trump-- who has called the NSA leaker a "spy" and a "traitor" who deserves to be executed.That's according to a senior U.S. official who has analyzed a series of highly sensitive intelligence reports detailing Russian deliberations and who says a Snowden handover is one of various ploys to "curry favor" with Trump. A second source in the intelligence community confirms the intelligence about the Russian conversations and notes it has been gathered since the inauguration....If he were returned to American soil, Snowden-- a divisive figure in America who is seen by some as a hero and others as treasonous-- would face an administration that has condemned him in the strongest terms."I think he's a total traitor and I would deal with him harshly," Trump said in July. "And if I were president, Putin would give him over." In October 2013, Trump tweeted: "Snowden is a spy who should be executed."CIA Director Mike Pompeo has also called for Snowden to face American justice. "I think the proper outcome would be that he would be given a death sentence," Pompeo said last February....In an interview streamed on Twitter in December, Snowden said being forced to return to the U.S. would be a human-rights violation but would also put to rest to accusations that he is a Russian spy."A lot of people have asked me: Is there going to be some kind of deal where Trump says, 'Hey look, give this guy to me as some kind of present'? Will I be sent back to the U.S., where I'll be facing a show trial?" Snowden said."Is this going to happen? I don't know. Could it happen? Sure. Am I worried about it? Not really, because here's the thing: I am very comfortable with the decisions that I've made. I know I did the right thing."More than 1 million people signed a White House petition calling for then-President Obama to pardon Snowden. Snowden himself did not file an application and tweeted that Army leaker Chelsea Manning should get clemency ahead of him. Obama commuted Manning's sentence but took no action on Snowden.