
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says fugitive leaker Edward Snowden performed a “public service” but still deserves to be punished.
“We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate that we engaged in and by the changes that we made,” Holder told former Obama White House adviser David Axelrod on an episode of “The Axes Files” podcast released Monday.
But the former attorney general was quick to add that Snowden — who leaked explosive documents about American government surveillance programs while…
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Contact us at letters@time.com