Twelve years after facilitating the largest national security leak in American history, Edward Snowden remains exiled in Russia, unable to set foot on U.S. soil without losing his freedom.
A bipartisan consensus denouncing Snowden as a criminal traitor quickly formed in Washington, D.C., following the revelation of his identity in 2013: "I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot," President Barack Obama said at a press conference. Hillary Clinton dismissed him as "a lawbreaker," House Speaker John Boehner called him a "traitor," Rep. Mike Pompeo (R–Kan.)—later CIA director—called for his execution.
The U.S. government was illegally surveilling its own citizens, and because of decisions made by Congress and the Bush and Obama administrations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, America was on track to become an Orwellian police state.
