U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has lined up right alongside the likes of former Vice President Dick Cheney in convicting someone who hasn’t even been tried – yet – for committing a crime against the state.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, drew boos and heckling when she said Edward Snowden, the man behind the leaking of National Security Agency secrets, has broken the law. Pelosi’s comments came not many days after Cheney called Snowden a “traitor” because, the ex-VP said, he has spilled the beans on vital national security secrets.
I haven’t yet fully grasped the entire story here, but were I come from, every human being on the planet – in the eyes of U.S. law and our very own Constitution – enjoys a presumption of innocence before any court hands down a conviction. That doesn’t seem to apply to Snowden, who’s apparently hiding in Hong Kong to avoid the long arm of U.S. law.
Snowden has been charged by the feds with espionage. He faces a very lengthy prison term if he’s convicted. But he’s not yet been tried, let alone sent up the river for any crime.
The law is supposed to provide a suspect a bit of protection against those willing to tighten the noose.