In his “Manifesto for the Truth,” published in the German news magazine Der Spiegel and passed to German officials via a liberal German lawmaker, Edward Snowden outlined his case for clemency in the US. Mr. Snowden, who has been charged with two violations of the 1917 Espionage Act, as well as with theft, made the case that he has furnished a meaningful and long overdue debate in the US and abroad about the ethics of federal spying. In the letter, Snowden also expressed his willingness to assist German officials in investigating blooming allegations of NSA spying on their activities. White House officials told the New York Times that they were unmoved by Mr. Snowden’s appeal for forgiveness.
Why is this important? Even as Snowden’s disclosures have spurred ever more high-octane debate about the ethics of the NSA’s spying, the US government has remained unapologetic, saying that most of the NSA’s activities are well within its rights. The government's un-yielding maintenance that Snowden committed a crime in revealing the NSA's activities has burnished its claim that its agency's spying was not illegal, as well aimed toward establishing a deterring precedent for would-be whistleblowers.
