Eric Holder: The Justice Department could strike deal with Edward Snowden [View all]

[Beauregard]

Source: WP

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said today that a “possibility exists” for the Justice Department to cut a deal with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that would allow him to return to the United States from Moscow.

In an interview with Yahoo News, Holder said “we are in a different place as a result of the Snowden disclosures” and that “his actions spurred a necessary debate” that prompted President Obama and Congress to change policies on the bulk collection of phone records of American citizens.
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Holder’s comments came as he began a new job as a private lawyer at Covington & Burling, the elite Washington law firm where he worked before serving as the nation’s top law enforcement officer from February 2009 until last April.
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It’s also not clear whether Holder’s comments signal a shift in Obama administration attitudes that could result in a resolution of the charges against Snowden. Melanie Newman, chief spokeswoman for Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Holder’s successor, immediately shot down the idea that the Justice Department was softening its stance on Snowden.

“This is an ongoing case so I am not going to get into specific details but I can say our position regarding bringing Edward Snowden back to the United States to face charges has not changed,” she said in an email.
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But Wizner, Snowden’s lawyer, said any felony plea by Snowden that results in prison time would be unacceptable to his client. “Our position is he should not be reporting to prison as a felon and losing his civil rights as a result of his act of conscience,” he said.



Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/politics/eric-holder-the-justice-department-could-strike-123393663066.html

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