MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In summer 2013, Snowden leaked over 1.5 million secret documents revealing mass surveillance practices pursued by the NSA in the United States and abroad. The revelations sparked both domestic and international controversy.
"I think if you weigh the benefit and the harm, the balance comes out pretty far on the harm side. That doesn’t mean that there was absolutely no good to what he did. And I think that’s an important nuance. It’s heavily weighted towards harm. The little bit of good is forcing a conversation that we probably should have had earlier," Ledgett told The Washington Post.
According to him, Snowden should receive a prison sentence over his deeds.
"Assuming that he gets a trial and is convicted, which I think the case is very strong. I would vote for conviction. I think I would be disqualified from the jury."
Snowden is wanted in his native United States for charges of espionage and theft of government property. Fearing up to 30 years in prison for his revelations, Snowden fled his motherland and was granted one-year temporary asylum in Russia and later a three-year residency permit.
