National Security Leaks and Constitutional Duty

National Security Leaks and Constitutional Duty

Kasner*, Alexander J.
Stanford Law Review (2015): 241-283
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24247333

* Winner of Scribes Law-Review Award

“In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked thousands of National Security Agency (NSA) documents to the press and public, detailing practices that he believed violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. In response, the U.S. government charged him with multiple espionage-related violations, including theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person. Faced with the prospect of a long imprisonment, Snowden fled the country and is now in exile. Snowden’s ideas about the Constitution are not altogether unreasonable: many judges, academics, and policymakers have questioned the constitutionality of NSA surveillance programs, and the dialogue over the Constitution’s treatment of privacy is at a fever pitch. And yet, despite some fervent calls for a presidential grant of clemency, it appears that Snowden will have no legal defense—statutory or constitutional—for his actions. ”

— Alexander J. Kasner