[twentysix]

No, there wasn't any alternate way to do it.

Watch the three guys who tried to do it via official channels, explain why it doesnt work and why they think he did the right thing.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/16/snowd...

[gruseom]

One detail from that interview that didn't get much attention: when those guys went through official channels inside NSA and brought their allegations of wrongdoing to the Inspector General, the Inspector General recommended criminal prosecution of them. From the article:

Jesselyn Radack: Not only did they go through multiple and all the proper internal channels and they failed, but more than that, it was turned against them. ... The inspector general was the one who gave their names to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act.