Peter King Blasts New York Times' Call For Edward Snowden Clemency

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) responded harshly on Thursday to a New York Times editorial published January 1 that called on the Obama administration to grant former NSA contractor Edward Snowden clemency on charges stemming from his disclosure of a massive amount of classified government data.

King, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News that he believes Snowden is a “traitor or a defector” for providing The Guardian and other news outlets with documents detailing the extent of the NSA’s surveillance programs. King also said the New York Times was “an accomplice” in Snowden’s actions.

“They’ve really made themselves a ‘blame America first’ rag, as far as I’m concerned,” King said. “They go out of their way as to be apologists for terrorists, and they go after those in law enforcement and the military who are trying to win this war.”

Watch King’s full statement in the video above.

(h/t Mediaite)