Holder: I’m Open to ‘Conversation’ With Snowden

But the attorney general says clemency is out of the question

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday he’s willing to open talks with Edward Snowden if the former NSA contractor accepts responsibility for leaking classified data about the government’s surveillance programs, NBC News reports.

Speaking to MSNBC’s Ari Melber, Holder suggested he might “engage in conversation” with Snowden if he comes clean. But the attorney general rejected the idea that Snowden might be a candidate for amnesty, “where we say, no harm, no foul.” When asked if Snowden was a whistleblower, he said, “I prefer the term defendant. That’s the most apt title.”

Holder would not comment on the suggestion made by some officials that Snowden may be a Russian spy, an accusation Snowden has unequivocally denied.

[NBC News]