WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) warned Tuesday that the U.S. government may use a drone missile to kill Edward Snowden, who recently leaked classified information on National Security Administration surveillance programs.
"I'm worried about somebody in our government might kill him with a cruise missile or a drone missile," Paul said during an interview on Fox Business News. "I mean, we live in a bad time where American citizens don't even have rights and that they can be killed. But the gentleman is trying to tell the truth about what's going on."
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, fled to Hong Kong before disclosing over the weekend that he was behind the leaks of information on NSA's sweeping monitoring of phone calls and Internet data. His actions have reignited a debate on Capitol Hill around security and civil liberties, and revived bipartisan legislation aimed at declassifying court opinions used to justify mass surveillance.
Paul, an ardent libertarian whose son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), waged an hours-long Senate filibuster in March in protest of the administration's drone policy, lamented that Americans are in an age "where people who tell the truth about what the government is doing" get in trouble.
"I don't think for a minute that he is a traitor," Ron Paul said of Snowden. "Everybody is worried about him and what they're going to do and how they're going to convict him of treason and how they're going to kill him. But what about the people who destroy our Constitution? ... What do we think about people who assassinate American citizens without trials and assume that's the law of the land? That's where our problem is."
Paul has a fan in Snowden: Campaign finance reports show that Snowden donated $250 to Paul's presidential campaign twice in 2012.
Washington: Former Representative Ron Paul has expressed fear over US' potential use of ' drone missiles' to kill whistleblower Edward Snowden for leaking classified information about US snooping programme.
Ron Paul has said that Americans live in an age where those who tell the truth about what the government is doing may face troubles, reports Huffington Post.
According to the report, Paul does not believe that Snowden is a traitor and is concerned about the manner in which US will convict him for the treason.
Paul, whose son Senator Rand Paul protested against the administration's drone policy, expressed concern about those who destroy the Constitution and assassinate American citizens without trials and assume that's the law of the land.
Snowden who in an attempt to escape US prosecution fled to Hong Kong was recently reported missing from hotel he was staying in rising concerns among his supporters.
Paul has a fan in Snowden as he had donated 250 dollars to her Presidential campaign twice in 2012, the report added.
NSA leaker contributed to Ron Paul campaign: Records
Last Updated: Monday, June 10, 2013, 20:30
Washington: The computer expert behind the leaks about about two sweeping US surveillance programs gave money last year to libertarian Ron Paul's run for the Republican presidential nomination, election records indicate.
Edward Snowden, the ex-CIA employee turned whistleblower, gave $500 to Paul, a presidential long-shot who bowed out of the race last May when it became clear Mitt Romney would be the Republican nominee. Federal Election Commission records show an Edward Snowden of Columbia, Maryland, whose employer is listed as Dell, contributing $250 to Paul's campaign on March 18, 2012. The man who leaked the vital US surveillance data worked at one point as a contractor for US computer giant Dell, according The Guardian, the British newspaper that published stories based on the leaks.
On May 6, a man with the same name cut a check for $250, with his address listed as Waipahu, Hawaii, about nine miles (15 kilometers) from the NSA facility where Snowden said he recently worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Snowden, 29, revealed himself Sunday as the source of The Guardian's expose of the US dragnet of Americans' telephone data as well as intelligence agencies' mining of Internet information such as email.
The revelations have rocked Washington, and some US lawmakers have called for his extradition and prosecution.
Ron Paul, an 11-term congressman from Texas who retired in January, earned a loyal and impassioned following, particularly among young Americans.
His campaign focused on his vehement defense of constitutional principles and individual liberties, electrifying some young voters who had become disillusioned by years of war and skyrocketing deficits.
HONG KONGThe former CIA employee who suddenly burst into headlines around the globe by revealing himself as the source of top-secret leaks about U.S. surveillance programs has just as quickly gone underground again.
Two days after he checked out of a Hong Kong hotel where he told the Guardian newspaper that he had "no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," Edward Snowden's whereabouts were still unclear, but it appears unlikely he has left the city.
Law enforcement sources say there is no evidence Snowden has left Hong Kong, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr, who adds that the sources suggest investigators have a pretty good idea where he might be.
The South China Morning Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation,claimed Wednesday to have obtained an exclusive interview with Snowden. Their report states he "has been holed up in secret locations in Hong Kong."
"People who think I made a mistake in picking (Hong Kong) as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality," Snowden is quoted as telling the Post earlier Wednesday.
He told the Post he will fight any extradition attempt by the U.S. government, saying: "My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system."
Snowden, in his Sunday interview with the Guradian newspaper, said he wanted to avoid the media spotlight, noting he didn't want "the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the U.S. government is doing."
(NEWSER) – Edward Snowden checked out of his hotel in Hong Kong yesterday and has essentially disappeared. And while he is believed to still be in the territory, Russia has suggested it might welcome the man who exposed the NSA's secret surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reports. If a request for asylum is received, "it will be considered," the Kremlin's chief spokesman says. The head of a Russian foreign affairs committee called the former CIA employee a human rights activist—and predicted "hysteria" in the US if Moscow decided to grant him refuge. In other developments:
There are more explosive stories to come from Snowden's leak, according to Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. "We are going to have a lot more significant revelations that have not yet been heard over the next several weeks and months," Greenwald tells the AP, "and we intend to pursue every last one of them."
A quirky tidbit from the New York Times on how Greenwald's meeting with Snowden went down. He (along with a colleague and documentarian) were to enter Snowden's hotel and ask for directions; if Snowden felt comfortable, he would walk past them carrying a Rubik's Cube—and that's exactly how it happened.
Bloomberg dug extensively through Snowden's background and found little to suggest he would become one of the biggest whistleblowers in US history. Snowden, whose father retired from the Coast Guard a few years ago, never finished high school and spent a few years living alone in a Maryland condo where neighbors described him as "serious" and "studious."
Snowden was apparently a Ron Paul supporter, but the feeling is mutual. On Piers Morgan Live, Paul last night said Snowden has "done a great service"—and deserves a thank-you letter from President Obama. "The president ran on transparency, we're getting a lot of transparency now."
What Snowden will likely get instead: charged, and soon. Two officials tell ABC News the Justice Department is hustling to file criminal charges and try to get Snowden back on US soil.
Snowden's exposé is also causing international headaches for Obama, the Guardian reports. Angela Merkel plans to grill Obama on NSA surveillance of European communications when they meet next week, and the European Commission chief has also promised to get answers from US officials.
'US may kill NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden'
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 16:58
Washington: Former Representative Ron Paul has expressed fear over US' potential use of ' drone missiles' to kill whistleblower Edward Snowden for leaking classified information about US snooping programme.
Ron Paul has said that Americans live in an age where those who tell the truth about what the government is doing may face troubles, reports Huffington Post.
According to the report, Paul does not believe that Snowden is a traitor and is concerned about the manner in which US will convict him for the treason.
Paul, whose son Senator Rand Paul protested against the administration's drone policy, expressed concern about those who destroy the Constitution and assassinate American citizens without trials and assume that's the law of the land.
Snowden who in an attempt to escape US prosecution fled to Hong Kong was recently reported missing from hotel he was staying in rising concerns among his supporters.
Paul has a fan in Snowden as he had donated 250 dollars to her Presidential campaign twice in 2012, the report added.
source:
http://zeenews.india.comEdward Snowden, the ex-CIA employee turned whistleblower, gave $500 to Paul, a presidential long-shot who bowed out of the race last May when it became clear Mitt Romney would be the Republican nominee. Federal Election Commission records show an Edward Snowden of Columbia, Maryland, whose employer is listed as Dell, contributing $250 to Paul's campaign on March 18, 2012. The man who leaked the vital US surveillance data worked at one point as a contractor for US computer giant Dell, according The Guardian, the British newspaper that published stories based on the leaks.
On May 6, a man with the same name cut a check for $250, with his address listed as Waipahu, Hawaii, about nine miles (15 kilometers) from the NSA facility where Snowden said he recently worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Snowden, 29, revealed himself Sunday as the source of The Guardian's expose of the US dragnet of Americans' telephone data as well as intelligence agencies' mining of Internet information such as email.
The revelations have rocked Washington, and some US lawmakers have called for his extradition and prosecution.
Ron Paul, an 11-term congressman from Texas who retired in January, earned a loyal and impassioned following, particularly among young Americans.
His campaign focused on his vehement defense of constitutional principles and individual liberties, electrifying some young voters who had become disillusioned by years of war and skyrocketing deficits.
No signs Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong
NSA WHISTLEBLOWER DROPS OUT OF SIGHT IN HONG KONG