US ex-Attorney General Holden: Snowden performed a public service
Eric Holder, former US Attorney General, said in an interview to CNN that “Edward Snowden performed a public service.” Snowden, the NSA officer who leaked thousands of secret documents exposing the agency’s routines, lives in asylum in Russia.
"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate we engaged in and by the changes that we made," Holder said. "Now, I would say doing what he did in the way he did it was inappropriate and illegal." Holder said Snowden harmed American interests and jeopardized the ability of to defend the safety of US citizens. This is the first time a half-formal US official admits that Snowden’s actions also had a positive effect and this could possibly lead to negotiations on Snowden’s return to face his indictment.