BREAKING: DOJ: No change in stance on Snowden despite Holder remarks

[99th_Monkey]

DOJ: No change in stance on Snowden despite Holder remarks
By Jim Sciutto, Athena Jones, Wesley Bruer and Sophia Tatum * CNN * 7/7/15

Washington (CNN)The Justice Department continues to insist that Edward Snowden would face criminal prosecution were he to return to the U.S., even as former Attorney General Eric Holder said the former National Security Agency contractor "spurred a necessary debate" over government spying techniques, Obama administration officials said Tuesday.

On Monday, Holder generated headlines when he told Yahoo News that the "possibility exists" for the DOJ to cut a deal that would allow Snowden to return to the United States, although U.S. authorities have long said they would be open to a plea deal with him.

Holder also said Snowden's disclosures "spurred a necessary debate" about the program to collect in bulk phone records on tens of millions of Americans, which was curtailed last month when Congress passed a law requiring the U.S. government to obtain a warrant in order to get phone metadata from telecommunications companies.

Snowden remains in exile in Moscow. Last year, Holder said at an event at the University of Virginia's Miller Center that "clemency isn't something that we (are) willing to consider" in the case. In March, Anatoly Kucherena, an attorney for Snowden, said the former contractor had received a guarantee from Holder that he will not face the death penalty, and added that Snowden also wanted a guarantee of a "legal and impartial trial."

Holder said Monday that "I certainly think there could be a basis for a resolution that everybody could ultimately be satisfied with."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/politics/eric-holder-edward-snowden/index.html

[djean111]

1. We only let Wall Street and bankers skate, slide, or - oh, I was going to say make deals, but

they don't even have to do that!

[Cali_Democrat]

2. "former Attorney General Eric Holder"

Holder is the FORMER Attorney General.

He has no say.

I don't understand why his statements yesterday were blown out of proportion.

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. +1. He had every opportunity to do it before he left the office had he wanted to.

[PoliticAverse]

4. I've noticed many former Government officials suddenly take positions seemingly opposite those

they had when they could actually do something about the situation. Funny how that works.

[Tarheel_Dem]

5. I know, right? He was the top law enforcement official in the country. If he's signaling Loretta..

Lynch, I hope she tells him to STFU, he's no longer the head of Justice. If AG Lynch makes any kind of deal with a criminal, Holder shouldn't even enter the equation.