OK, OK... so pick nits...

It's be "banished" or "Go to jail"...

It's not like the king said "Go away and never return or I'll put you in jail for the rest of your life.. " and called it banishment..

LOL

The talk show circuit in Russia? Or better yet, via satellite?

Grab the vodka, Snowden's on the TV honey! (Said no one ever.. ) His 15 min of fame is over and now he's relegated to making money the Russian way.... How do they do that exactly?

Oh I understand fully what the rules are, but I'm pretty sure the prosecutor won't have much trouble presenting evidence from public sources, classified or not. Somebody will make a legal exception and release it for the trial. Administrative branches do this sort of thing all the time....

Here's hoping he's enjoying his stay to the hilt... Personally, I'd not want to live in Russia, but if he finds the gilded cage enjoyable, so be it. Eventually he will realize that being stuck there sucks...

So you are saying HE won't request a closed trial... OK..

I'm saying the government won't request one either. The don't have to and I don't see why they'd want to. Just put the guy on trial with the evidence for all to see, no fuss, no mess, just the guilty verdict almost assured from any thinking jury. It's simple, quick and effective.....

IMHO, given that nobody knows what the REAL players are thinking here, we really don't know for sure and any further "you are wrong" arguments are pointless...

Banished: to expel from or relegate to a country or place by authoritative decree; condemn to exile:

How's Snowden not banished? Stay away or we will put you in jail or worse? Didn't they pull his passport, effectively keeping him from traveling anymore? Didn't that force him to stay in Russia? Seems like a textbook case of being banished....

I'm not so sure Hillary will go the distance and get into the general. She lost last time to a Junior senator from the state of Illinois who out lefted her and hasn't done much to improve her lot since then. I'm not sure who could over come the inevitability factor on that side because I've not seen much action from that party yet.

I'm also not thinking Jeb is a shoe in either. He's way to center for much of the republican base and it shows in the poll numbers. Of course Trump is making a mockery of the process right now and his loud mouth is attracting lots of attention, but hopefully he will run out of money soon and some of the other republican candidates will take lessons about how to deal with the press from him. If somebody could harness that brashness while keeping the wheels on the ground of principle while dealing with the press from the right, we'd have a republican president for sure. If Jeb is the nominee, it's going to be a nail biter of a horse race and as you indicate, the outcome won't matter much.

What you don't like is the law... Fine, just don't keep saying he won't get a fair trial because according to the LAW he will. Saying he won't get a fair trial is wrong. The courts are there to fairly apply the law and for the most part, that's what they do.

Although it seems obvious to me that the laws on treason are fairly clear and even handed, and Snowden KNEW what the law said because he signed a confidentially agreement that told him what it was... I'm not sure how you think the law can be changed so Snowden get's what you think is a fair result, without letting other folks off who really *should* be convicted. But that's another discussion from this fair trial canard...

You act like this is some conspiracy or something...

Look, if they didn't want the trial, that's EASY, especially in Russia... Just kill him where he is, problem solved, no trial, no mess and none of the risk. Problem for your theory is that he's alive and kicking still and not "accidentally" dead...

Personally, I don't think they care one way or the other. Stay in Russia or stand trial, either way.. Politically it is pointless to push this on any front, especially while he's in Russia and not on TV. The strong defense folks on the right want him on trial for treason, the folks on the left want the administration on trial in the court of public opinion and THEY want the power that the information from the spying program gives them.

The best solution politically is to let him languish in Russia... And that's what I expect they will do.

Not with that amount of cash you can't..

Oh yes there would be a very public trial. Why do you need a closed trial when all the classified evidence has already been published by the accused and is in public domain? Just whip out the contract he signed when he was indoctrinated with his clearance and dig out the public records of the documents he claims to have released to the press. All you have to prove is HE released the classified information...

Why do people think he's not going to get an open trial? OR a fair one? The outcome may be obvious, but that doesn't make the trial unfair....

Exactly this..

Snowden was about advancing HIS image and person and not so much about exposing something that was wrong. Where I believe he thought he had legal grounds, he was self deluded and stupid.

Now he's just a pawn being used to poke the eye of the country he says he loved by a two bit despot.... Way to go dude, you sure messed that one up.

There goes my karma....

Secret doesn't imply a kangaroo court... However, I don't think he'd get a secret trial.

There is no reason for a secret trial. All the "secret" evidence is already in the public domain. Why go to all the trouble of setting up a closed trial now? Just try him on what is already public.

Your choice, but I suggest you pay attention to the primaries at least and go out of your way to vote in them. The main problem for both parties is the lack of interest in selecting the proper candidates, and the tendency to elect the "best looking" and best funded over the best candidate.

After that, may I suggest you pay attention to the principles behind the positions of each of the candidates and pick the one that most matches what you actually agree with. Not the sound bites on TV, their actual positions and records...

Of course this may take too much effort, in which case, just forget the whole thing and stop complaining about those who are elected in races you didn't vote in.