"There are times that what is right is not the same thing as what is legal,” Snowden said. “Sometimes to do what’s right you have to break the law.”

◼ Edward J. Snowden, in an hour-long television interview broadcast Wednesday night, portrayed himself as a “patriot” who broke the law in an act of “civil disobedience” directed at “massive” constitutional violations by the U.S. government. - Washington Post

He called his disclosure of the documents an act of patriotism. “Being a patriot doesn’t mean prioritizing service to government above all else,” Snowden told Williams. “Being a patriot means knowing when to protect your country and knowing when to protect the Constitution against the encroachment of adversaries. Adversaries don’t have to be foreign countries. They can be bad policies.”

Asked about his relationship with the Russian government, which Snowden criticized for its “deeply unfair” crackdown on press, the fugitive said he has none. “I’ve never met the Russian president. I’m not supported by the Russian government. I’m not taking money from the Russian government. I’m not a spy [For Russia], which is the real question.”

The moment he decided to fork over the documents to journalists was “intimidating,” he said. But he doesn’t regret it, he said, even though he potentially faces a long prison sentence. “I may have lost my ability to travel,” he said. “But I’ve gained the ability to go to sleep at night.”

◼ "Nobody is saying 'that news organizations should simply defer to the government when it comes to deciding what the public has a right to know about its secret activities'... which is how [NYT Public Editor Margaret] Sullivan mischaracterized [Michael] Kinsley’s argument [against Glenn Greewald]." - Althouse

◼ Michael Kinsley was right about government secrets - Charles Lane/Washington Post