The Snowden Thought Experiment

Edward Snowden, the guy who let everyone know about the snooping that the US government was doing, had at one stage tried to negotiate a return to the US. It doesn’t look like the US responded (obviously). But the possible why’s behind that non-negotiation make for interesting reading.

Take Scott Adams’ take on how messy this whole situation must be for the US government. First off, if and when Snowden is brought back to the US, he would stand trial. A jury trial, to be specific. And therein, argues Adams, lies the problem:

“I'm wondering how you find a jury that would convict Snowden. On the first day of the trial his lawyer will explain to all twelve jurors how the government spied on them personally. Every potential juror is also a victim. Good luck getting the victims to side with the perpetrator, which in this case is the government.”

Further, Adams feels that the jurors may feel the law is an ass:

“Jury nullification is when jurors agree that the accused broke the law, but they feel the law itself is wrong, or that a conviction would be overkill, so they find the accused innocent. I predict that will happen.”

And so Adams ends his blog with:

“I am available for jury duty.”

So should the US just ignore the whole issue? That’s not an option either, says Adams in another blog because:

“The government has an absolute legal obligation to pursue criminal charges against Snowden.”

This situation makes walking on eggs seem like a cakewalk (excuse the mixed metaphors). The government would have to “avoid some sort of accidental competence that ends up convicting a martyr” and so “they need to fail in getting a conviction to satisfy the public”!

How about arranging for an “accident” then, asks Adams rhetorically? Unlikely but not because of any ethics or morality. Rather:

“I don't think the U.S. government will authorize a hit on Snowden because it would be too obvious.”

So is there no way out then? Adams says if the government decides to play for a draw rather than a win, there might be a way after all:

“If I were President Obama, I would start seeding the media with the idea of a trial and conviction followed by a presidential pardon.”

In physics, they call it a “thought experiment”; I think Adams did the same thing with his analysis. And had fun doing it too!