Whistleblowers are not traitors

Re:Whistleblowers are not traitors by alexqgb on Tuesday June 18, 2013 @12:00PM (#5900039)

""He betrayed the trust of the government he worked for. That means he is a traitor."

Actually, no. Treason - as a formal charge - can only exists in a time of formally declared war. Even in the depth of the Cold War, we didn't charge turncoats spying for the Soviets with treason since technically, we were never at war with the USSR. Espionage, yes, treason no.

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Re:Whistleblowers are not traitors by covingkj on Tuesday June 18, 2013 @12:22PM (#5900189)

I'm confused about what you're getting at. In the next paragraph he defines being a traitor and being treasonous as different things.

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Re:Whistleblowers are not traitors by alexqgb on Tuesday June 18, 2013 @02:32PM (#5901081)

Correct, but that doesn't change the fact that his definition of "treason" is wrong.

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Re:Whistleblowers are not traitors by sigzero on Tuesday June 18, 2013 @12:22PM (#5900198)

I think you are arguing it wrong as the OP does speak to traitor vs treasonous.

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