As more time passes, even Snowden‘s harshest critics are warming up to the idea that his leaks did more good than harm. Former attorney general Eric Holder, to name one such critic, believes Snowden „performed a public service“ by leaking surveillance documents. Of course, this is the sort of thing one can safely say when no longer in the position of having to choose between prosecuting Snowden or dropping the bogus espionage charges.

Over at Lawfare — a site whose writers are almost universally critical of Snowden — one contributor (a former DoD lawyer) sees Snowden‘s leaks as beneficial. Jack Goldsmith‘s take on the NSA leak fallout finds that Snowden‘s actions actually made the NSA a better agency — not just in terms of transparency but in terms of capabilities.