A possibility
Maybe Mr Snowden has enough up his sleeve to drive a plea bargain - e.g. Let's all be nice about this and X, Y and Z won't see the light of day.
Personally, I see his actions as justified. He has exposed some pretty despicable actions by governments, As JFK said (supposedly quoting Burke) ,<<The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.>> I'm prepared to believe that Snowden saw evil, that he did something, which most of us, myself included, would be too afraid to do.
Those in power will always cast FUD on the actions of whistleblowers, claiming that they're putting lives in jeopardy and so on. It's 'Dealing With Whistlebowers 101'.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
