Jeffrey Toobin (cc photo: UMKC)
In his attack last week on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the New Yorker‘s Jeffrey Toobin (8/20/13) started off by comparing the release of classified information about government spying to the assassination of Martin Luther King:
The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy led directly to the passage of a historic law, the Gun Control Act of 1968. Does that change your view of the assassinations? Should we be grateful for the deaths of these two men? Of course not. That’s lunatic logic. But the same reasoning is now being applied to the actions of Edward Snowden. Yes, the thinking goes, Snowden may have violated the law, but the outcome has been so worthwhile.
I guess that establishes Toobin as some kind of an expert on bizarre analogies, which is perhaps why he feels qualified to make this observation:
In this debate, Snowden himself says, those who followed the law were nothing better than Nazis: “I believe in the principle declared at Nuremberg, in 1945: ‘Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring.'”… It is simply grotesque that Snowden compares these thousands of government workers–all doing their jobs to protect the United States—to the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg.
Justice Robert Jackson
Well, it just so happens that I have the chief counsel for the prosecution at Nuremberg, Justice Robert Jackson, right here. Justice Jackson, is Jeffrey Toobin right that the Nuremberg principles are only meant to apply to Nazi-like regimes, or are they applicable to the United States as well?
If certain acts of violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the United States does them or whether Germany does them. And we are not prepared to lay down the rule of criminal conduct against others which we would not be willing to have invoked against us. We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.
Thank, Justice Jackson. Glad you were here to set the record straight.
I’d call it sophistry
But that requires some semblance of the clever about it, doesn’t it?
There is a question on morality and legality. It was immoral and illegal to assassinate JFK and MLK. On the other hand Snowden did something Illegal but moral and even praiseworthy. Jeffrey Toobin confused himself by thinking that if two acts are illegal and one is immoral than the othet one must be as well.
Toobin has become a caricature. If he wants to bring in MLK, he would be better off to write that he broke the law with the Montgomery boycott and the demonstrations. The result was the eventual integration of public transportation and accommadations. But it is not worth the time to debate with this guy.
…It is simply grotesque that Snowden compares these thousands of government workers–all doing their jobs to protect the United States–to the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. -Toobin
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I’d call it sophistry
But that requires some semblance of the clever about it, doesn’t it? – Doug
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I am thinking it require some kind of major double think at least.
All Government workers try to protect their government;
All workers who protect their government are loyal.
Ergo all government workers are just loyal subjects,
and therefore Innocent.
Toobin’s rise to fame was meteoric, the fall in his credibility meteorite-like. Cratered now is this corporate stooge, who began his writing career recounting his prosecution of Ollie North. He now wants TV time all the time; to get it, he must take reliably establishment stands on controversial issues. What a terrible waste of a good legal mind!
Lap Dog
ACTUALLY a seminal point is being missed by everyone here.We are supposing Snowden blundered into misdeeds and exposed them because of his oh so high moral values.Wrong!Snowden went in to steal classified material .Later it was found that a small percentage of it was in fact pertinent.By that I mean that it inflamed people on both sides of the isle as to how this government was conducting itself.But going in he knew NOTHING of this program.He was simply taking the job to steal classified material.What his reasoning was he has never said.A better analogy would be the Rosenberg’s of 1951 who stole nuclear secrets allowing Russia to get the bomb.They too( it was said )felt that what they did benefited the world.Returning to it a balance of power.They too shared altruistic reasoning for their spying.Some people spy for money.Some spy because they believe that spying is the right thing to do.Did the Rosenbergs help the world?Did Snowden help this country?In the end only one thing matters.Did either have permission to remove the classified material in the first place?Of course not.So they are spys.Plain ,and simple.Spys against this country.Maybe one day Mr Snowden will be found shot.Maybe by some rogue spy who feels HE is doing a service to this country.Will you laude his right to do as he pleases in defense of his beliefs?I wonder.
Michael e.
I don’t understand your reasoning to prosecute a whistleblower for trying to upholding the rights of our citizenry. Whether
your analogy is accurate or misleading, neither of which really matters because it is not the major core issue at hand. We need to concentrate on our nation violating international and constitutional laws. When I ask some people about their feeling about our government spying on our email, text, internet etc. I sometime hear an insipid response a brainless comments from them like ” I have nothing to hide”. Which is not the point. If feel that you have nothing to hide your should be willing to have the NSA put a camera in you bedroom. If that is how you feel, publish yourself on a youtube reality show. As for me, I value the constitution and the protection it affords me and my fellow citizens. I want our elected official that swore to uphold its dictate to do so and not allow the NSA or any other government entity to eviscerate the constitution or violate my personal rights that we are supposed to enjoy under this sacred document.
I know you probably think your logic is sound but it would appear you are listening to an echo chamber that is not concern with the application of the constitution. In addition, it was not confirmed that Edward Snowden exposed the illicit conduct of our government for personal gain. And in fact, if he did and it is protecting the rights of the American people from further clandestine government spying on it own people with a warrants, reasonable cause or due process, in violation of the constitution; I’m ok with it.
Hopefully, in the future, you will consider the rights of the American people before those governmental official that want to remove our constitutional rights.
Ciao
Gary….We in the tea party have been talking for years about the new Medi-data mining, and information gathering going on for years now.We have spoken about phone taps,using the NSA and the IRS for some time.Glen Beck has been spouting this stuff for longer.Maybe snowden listens to conservative radio? ha….. So anyway Along comes a young man who admits he took the job to steal information.Notice he had no idea WHAT that information would be.AND THAT….is the seminal point.A whistle blower stumbles into information that he feels is his civic,national duty- to tell people about.Snowden was a mole.He went looking for information that would prove the negative things he felt toward this country.And finding something does not exonerate his actions.Think if a Senator took the job for the sole purpose of secretly taping everything Obama said in top secret briefings.Sooner or later Obama says something that will set America on its ear.He sends the tapes to CNN…..Then he runs to Russia.Do you not see the insanity in saying this is well and good?Remember the watergate burglars actually found information that the Dems were involved in shady, illegal, dirty tricks themselves.I just don’t see anyone cheering them.Snowden is a spy.His reasoning was 15 minutes of fame…..or eternal fame.His thinking was short sighted and mental.Take your pic.One thing is for sure…..He was prepared NOT to answer for his actions.He took off toot sweet.My guess is the Russians now have ALL his information.They inverted him and shook every penny out of his pocket.I have no doubt of it.He is dealing with tough ex KGB types.He is a stupid kid in way over his head.I hope he is not holding information that could seriously hurt this country.People have ended up dead for such things.This is not spy vs spy, or yuck it up reality tV.Remember we have a legal procedure for whistle blowers.They speak up every day(and yes Obama prosecutes them)Follow that or….Just listen to Glenn Beck.He had it right again.