House leaders have called Snowden a 'traitor' and don't endorse his methods. Lawmakers to Snowden: No mercy

House lawmakers on Thursday had a message for NSA leaker Edward Snowden: No mercy.

The surveillance reform that passed the House would not have been introduced without Snowden’s revelations last June. But the measure’s key sponsors said the National Security Agency contractor should not get a free pass and be admitted back into the country with immunity.


House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) made it clear that the reforms don’t justify Snowden’s actions.

“I believe that Mr. Snowden … made a tremendous mistake in going first to China, to Hong Kong and then on to Russia and to seek the protection of Vladimir Putin rather than coming to the United States Congress or someone else or some other entity within the U.S.,” Goodlatte said during a news conference Thursday after the measure passed 303-121. “The consequences of him having done it the way he did it are as yet untold.”

The USA Freedom Act, which now heads to the Senate, is chiefly designed to ban the NSA’s bulk collection of meta data like phone records — the first activity revealed by Snowden nearly one year ago.

Many lawmakers have moved to curb some of the intelligence community’s power since last summer’s revelations, but they haven’t endorsed Snowden’s methods.

“It’s hard for me to imagine that Snowden didn’t realize that he was breaking the law in several respects and that he was apparently willing to pay the price or at least take the risk for that activity,” Conyers said. “So I don’t think there should be some committee seeking to give him a pass or lighten up his responsibility. I have to assume he realized that if he were ever detected that this thing wouldn’t work out too well.”

Last year, the leader of an NSA task force regarding the leaks said it was “worth having a conversation about” cutting Snowden a deal. But House Speaker John Boehner has called Snowden a “traitor” for his actions. The White House has said Snowden should be returned to the U.S. to face felony charges.