General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Like It or Not, Glenn Greenwald Is Now the Face of the 1st Amendment [View all]merrily
(45,251 posts)I agree that Snowden would be a very tough case for First Amendment protection. Additionally, I don't think that this Court in this time would give him that protection, even if Obama had been able to replace Kennedy or Scalia. I am no
The First Amendment issue in general is dicey, though. Overclassifying is illegal and we have a government that overclassifies. Is it always going to be unprotected speech to disclose classified info that is important for the populace to know?
For example, is it illegal to disclose an attack on a faraway village or place of worship that has already been attacked, simply because the government has classified the information? It's no secret to people in the other locale that the place has been attacked by US, only escaping the attention of people in the US.
Also, sadly, I think that the Supreme Court of Ellsberg's time might decide my hypothetical case very differently that a post-911 Supreme Court, "originalist" or not.