I swore that oath twice, in the military. But when I worked as a contractor, we did not swear any oaths. We signed a document about not divulging classified information. He likely did the same.
There is no question he committed a crime. The question is whether he was forced to commit that crime due to criminal acts by his superiors preventing him from whistle blowing, and whether that justifies pardon or even dropping his charges in an effort to prosecute bigger fish.
I now lean towards dropping or lessening charges and getting his assistance in going after the worse criminals in our government and its many contractors.
But this isn't a simple black and white issue. Just because there is a positive outcome of committing a crime, doesn't necessarily excuse the crime. You don't want to set a precedent where any political idiot thinks it's ok to leak out classified information.
So it's an entirely valid argument with good points on both sides. Acting as if anyone who isn't 100% on board with your view of it is pretty lame.
I suspect as much, which is why I have come around to the idea of dropping charges. But there also needs to be a reckoning for those involved in forcing his hand.
I swore that oath twice, in the military. But when I worked as a contractor, we did not swear any oaths. We signed a document about not divulging classified information. He likely did the same.
There is no question he committed a crime. The question is whether he was forced to commit that crime due to criminal acts by his superiors preventing him from whistle blowing, and whether that justifies pardon or even dropping his charges in an effort to prosecute bigger fish.
I now lean towards dropping or lessening charges and getting his assistance in going after the worse criminals in our government and its many contractors.
But this isn't a simple black and white issue. Just because there is a positive outcome of committing a crime, doesn't necessarily excuse the crime. You don't want to set a precedent where any political idiot thinks it's ok to leak out classified information.
So it's an entirely valid argument with good points on both sides. Acting as if anyone who isn't 100% on board with your view of it is pretty lame.
If he would have followed proper whistleblower laws he would have been silenced and possibly worse. Obama hated legal whistleblowers
I suspect as much, which is why I have come around to the idea of dropping charges. But there also needs to be a reckoning for those involved in forcing his hand.