[throwawayq3423]

Less than 1% of what Snowden took and leaked pertained to domestic surveillance programs, The rest was intelligence capabilities and sources and methods.

But that's besides the point. There is a real argument that the U.S. government, in trying to catch Snowden, was protecting national security. There is no such argument with Trump.

[esseph]

> was protecting national security

No, it was retribution. The info was already out there when they were going after him. Even if he stayed in the US and was captured, it still wouldn't have "stopped" anything.

[throwawayq3423]

> The info was already out there when they were going after him.

This was of course not known at the time. The only thing that was known is that a single individual was responsible for the greatest breach of classified secrets in the nation's history, and that individual was still at large.

> was protecting national security

So yes, it was.

[monocasa]

If Snowden hasn't moved quickly, he wouldn't have been able to leak any of it.

What he did, grab it all, then give it to reputable journalists, was the correct option to be able to inform the public of massive intelligence dragnets targeting civilians that the government was lying about.

[throwawayq3423]

> If Snowden hasn't moved quickly, he wouldn't have been able to leak any of it.

How does stealings sensitive materials not related to domestic surveillance improve his odds of successfully leaking information and fleeing the country?

And please be specific.