Republicans — and some Democrats — fight Snowden clemency campaign

By David Weigel September 15 at 9:28 PM

KINDERHOOK, N.Y. -- Twenty-four hours before Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont arrives in New York to campaign for congressional candidate Zephyr Teachout, her Republican opponent John Faso denounced him for a particularly in-vogue position. At a debate in Albany, Faso thundered that Sanders wanted to let "the traitor, Edward Snowden," back into the United States without prosecution. Later, in an interview at his Kinderhook home, Faso attacked Sanders again.

"This comment he made about how Snowden deserves clemency?" said Faso. "I mean, Snowden is a traitor."

Asked if he thought Snowden should be tried for treason, or whether he deserved the death penalty, Faso shook his head. "No, no," he said. "I think that Snowden should be called to account for his actions, which were against the national security interests of the United States, and violated the oath he took. He damaged the national security interests of the country, and he may have put some of our foreign contacts in jeopardy by his actions."

But as a campaign gears up on Snowden's behalf, tied to the long-delayed Oliver Stone biopic "Snowden," Republicans are working to make sure the whistleblower remains politically toxic. They're joined by some Democrats, led by members of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, who made sure that a letter and report opposing the Snowden clemency talk — released Thursday — was unanimous.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/15/republicans-and-some-democrats-fight-back-against-snowden-clemency-campaign/?wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1