Was Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor? Just how far do American privacy rights extend? And how far is too far when it comes to government secrecy in the name of security? These are just a few of the questions that have dominated American consciousness since Edward Snowden exposed the breath of the NSA's domestic surveillance program. In these seven previously unpublished essays, a group of prominent legal and political experts delve in to life After Snowden, examining the ramifications of the infamous leak from multiple angles: Director of the National Security Archive Thomas Blanton looks at the impact of the Snowden leaks on the classification of government documents. Former Assistant Secretary of State Hodding Carter explores whether the press is justified in unearthing and publishing classified information. Georgetown Law Professor David Cole addresses the motives and complicated legacy of Snowden and other leakers. Washington lawyer and literary agent Ronald Goldfarb acts as the books editor and provides an introduction outlining the many debates sparked by the Snowden leaks. Dean Emeritus at the University of Florida Law School Jon Mills addresses the constitutional right to privacy and the difficulties of applying it in the digital age. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Barry Siegel analyses the role of the state secrets provision in the judicial system. Dean of the UC Berkley School of Journalism Edward Wasserman discusses the uneven relationship between journalists and whistleblowers.
Thomas S. Blanton is Director of the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Harvard University, his writing has won the George Polk Award for "piercing self-serving veils of government secrecy, guiding journalists in search for the truth, and informing us all."
Hodding Carter III is a professor of leadership and public policy at the University of North Carolina. A longtime reporter, he worked for the Carter administration, served as president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and won four Emmys and an Edward R. Murrow Award for his work with PBS.
David Cole is the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at Georgetown University Law Center where he teaches constitutional law, national security, and criminal justice. He is also the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation, and a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books.
Ronald Goldfarb is a veteran Washington, D.C. attorney and the author of thirteen books including In Confidence: When to Protect Secrecy and When to Require Disclosure (2009). He worked in the Department of Justice during the Kennedy administration, served as trial counsel for the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps, acted as special counsel to a congressional investigation, and chaired a federal review of the Department of Labor.
Jon Mills is dean emeritus, professor of law, and director of Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law. He has served in the Florida Legislature and has appeared in courts nationwide arguing on topics such as voting rights and constitutional law.
Barry Siegel is a Professor of English at the University of California Irvine and the Director of the University of California Irvine Literary Journalism Program. A longtime correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, he is the author of Manifest Injustice (2013) and has won numerous journalistic accolades including the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.
Edward Wasserman is dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkley. He holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Paris, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. He lectures widely on matters of media policy and practice.
