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Krauthammer savages Snowden’s SXSW appearance: ‘I don’t want to be lectured by a traitor’ [VIDEO]

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Brendan Bordelon Contributor
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Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer blasted Edward Snowden’s digital appearance at the South by Southwest festival, snarling that he doesn’t “want to be lectured by a traitor who speaks from a land that doesn’t have a constitution.”

Krauthammer spoke on a Fox News panel Monday, along with National Journal’s Rob Fournier and The Weekly Standard’s Steve Hayes. Host Bret Baier asked the panel to respond to Snowden’s remarks at the conference, which were made via video conference from the NSA leaker’s residence in Moscow, Russia.

While Fournier seemed to express tepid support for some of Snowden’s criticisms against the American government, Krauthammer appeared personally offended — particularly by Snowden’s repeated references to the Constitution.

“I don’t mind being lectured by Ron about the Fourth Amendment and privacy, because I respect Ron,” he began. “But I don’t want to be lectured by a traitor who speaks from a land that doesn’t have a constitution — or had one, and it was entirely eviscerated by a thug who just invaded another land. It’s a travesty, the packaging of this.”

“The reason that everybody lauds Snowden, or the ones who do, is because of his revelations on privacy,” Krauthammer continued. “But that is a fraction of the revelations he’s done, which have to do with secrets — military intelligence secrets of the United States — which he has undoubtedly given to the Russians, which in and of itself is an act of treason.”

“So yes, we should have a debate, even lectures on the Constitution,” the columnist said. “But that’s the wrong guy to give it, and he doesn’t deserve the airing. I wouldn’t ban airing him under the First Amendment, but Americans on their own ought to shun a man like that.”

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