Snowden files set for wider release

With all that stuff Snowden leaked and also Julian Assange with Wikileaks, I'm more worried about what Trump will do with the power to spy on everyone. Given how much he attacks the press, I think it's only a matter of time before it comes out that he was spying on the press with all the tools the CIA has.

Not that I don't believe that he was also targeted, just that now he's the one with these broad powers it's only obvious that he will abuse them too.

It's certainly a valid point. Although, as stated earlier, while it's most likely prudent to avoid any politically-charged discussion, it stands to reason that any sitting president could end up abusing such broad powers of surveillance.

On Saturday, March 11th, 2017 at 11:38 pm, Jovian said:

Sure - I get that. I just don't have a lot of confidence that the current U.S. president has the temperament to avoid the temptation to use these kinds of powers. To be fair, none of the other recent presidents have, either.

It's REALLY HARD not to go on a big political rant against that man (I'm not a fan) but I share in your concerns that he will abuse the ability to spy on everyone. I don't personally think that the previous president tended to do such things (although he was accused of it a lot without evidence).

Mainly I'm worried about him using surveillance to find and deport as many people as he can.

I'll stop now as I know we're not supposed to get political.

On Sunday, March 12th, 2017 at 12:04 am, Quaz said:

As long as we keep it civil, it's fine.

The main thing I want to avoid is emotionally-driven discussion instead of fact-driven discussion. As long as we stick to facts, it's fine, although I think I kind of broke that rule since my earlier comment:

On Thursday, March 9th, 2017 at 1:46 am, Nitrocosm said:

...kind of breaks that rule since it was a statement of opinion rather than verifiable fact.

So, anyway, I'll agree that these powers of surveillance should not be in the hands of any president without the involvement of the legislative and judicial branches. Even then, I still think it's unconstitutional. No warrant, no wiretap.