Rare News Desk
A raucous debate over government surveillance and the legacy of Edward Snowden broke out at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.
Videos by Rare
After a clip of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was played, constitutional attorney Bruce Fein called him a “patriot” and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore condemned him as a “traitor.”
Fein received decent applause. Gilmore got a light applause but even more boos.
Fein said Americans were outraged by Snowden’s revelations about the National Security Agency’s controversial metadata collection program, something the agency intended to keep “secret from the American people forever.” Fein portrayed Snowden as a sympathetic figure willing to break the law for the higher purpose of showing Americans what they’re government was doing to them.
Gilmore held up a New York Post from June featuring Snowden and Russian President Vladmir Putin featuring the headline “comrades,” and blasted the whistleblower as a “traitor,” a “coward” and someone who gives “aid and comfort” to America’s enemies.
Fein pointed out that the United States government had not charged Snowden with treason and that when Director of Intelligence James Clapper was asked by Congress if the NSA was spying on every American citizen, Wyden answered no. “In a democracy people have a right to know what their government is doing” said Fein, adding “The American people have forced changes… only because of Mr. Snowden’s revelations.”
Constitutional attorney Bruce Fein (Photo: Gage Skidmore)
Fein also noted that the only people who could’ve possibly revealed the NSA’s activities outside the agency was members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Fein concluded, “What does it say about all the member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who didn’t have the courage to do what a 29-year-old did.”
“If it were not for Edward Snowden, we would not be having this conversation today,” Fein said emphatically, to loud applause.
Gilmore stressed that the US is danger of attacks by al-Qaeda and other foreign enemies, and that Snowden revealing the NSA’s secrets undermined national security. At one point, a crowd member screamed out “you lie!” at Gilmore, imitating an incident that happened during President Obama’s 2009 State of the Union address.
The panel, titled “The Death of American Privacy: Does it Matter if the Government Records Every Phone Call, E-mail and Text You Send?” also featured Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk, who echoed Fein is saying that Snowden must be understood within the context of the NSA’s actions. Kirk also noted that the U.S government has targeted conservatives, tea party members and others who advocate for limited government via the Internal Revenue Service, which should make all conservatives leery of an omnipotent surveillance state.
Despite the fact that he began his description of Snowden by calling the whistleblower a traitor and coward, Gilmore warned against too much demagoguery on this issue.
After the panel debate over whether it is ever proper for an individual to break the law for what they see as a higher cause, Lt. Col. Oliver North delivered a speech to the conference.
