Edward Snowden Criticizes Hillary Over Violation of Classified Laws

Edward Snowden has slammed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, contrasting his situation living in asylum in Russia with her campaign for the White House, despite what he calls the same violation of classification rules she committed in her personal email server scandal.

Writing on Twitter from Russia, where he is living while facing charges in the United States for violating the Espionage Act after leaking classified documents from the National Security Agency, Snowden wrote:

Break classification rules for the public's benefit, and you could be exiled.

Do it for personal benefit, and you could be President.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) June 1, 2016

Snowden has occasionally made similar criticisms about Clinton in connection to her email troubles, saying there is no way that her private server she used as secretary of state was safe.

He also recently criticized presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump for backing out of a debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, tweeting:

Who would have imagined Donald Trump's greatest fear was an economic debate?

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) May 28, 2016

As the Washington Examiner points out, Snowden has not criticized Sanders, which could be because the senator said Snowden should be granted a plea bargain because his actions  demonstrate how the NSA "abused its authority and violated ... constitutional rights."

Both Clinton and Trump are in favor of Snowden's conviction.

Snowden was also in the headlines earlier this week when former Attorney General Eric Holder said that although Snowden should return to the U.S. to face justice, he performed a valuable "public service by raising the debate that we engaged in and by the changes that we made."

Related Stories:

• Holder: Snowden Leaks a 'Public Service' But He Should Still Be Punished
• Snowden: Would Return to US with Guarantee of Fair Trial