Unbelievable

(Editorial cartoon by Jim Morin/Miami Herald published 7/2/13 and featured at McClatchy DC.)

Attorney General Eric Holder is writing all sorts of checks with his mouth that his backside can't and won't cash.  For Edward Snowden's sake, I hope the Russians realize this

Edward Snowden will not face the death penalty or torture if he is returned to the United States to face espionage charges, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. has assured his Russian counterpart in an effort to dissuade Moscow from granting asylum to the American fugitive.

In a letter made public Friday, Holder told Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov that the former National Security Agency contractor’s professed fears of facing abuse and possible execution are "entirely without merit."

"The charges he faces do not carry that possibility, and the United States would not seek the death penalty even if Mr. Snowden were charged with additional, death penalty-eligible crimes," Holder wrote in the letter dated Tuesday. "Second, Mr. Snowden will not be tortured. Torture is unlawful in the United States."   [Emphasis added]

Oh, please.  Not all of us are as dumb as you obviously think we are, Mr. Holder.  Nor are our memories as short as you think they should be.

I mean, do you speak for the CIA?  Can you or anyone in the administration guarantee that an agent won't off Mr. Snowden at the first opportunity?

And as to torture ...

Guantanamo Bay and water boarding.

Abu Ghraib and dogs and water boarding

"Black Hole" prisons and dogs and water boarding and electric wires on testicles.

Bradley Manning and solitary confinement for months on end.

No, Mr. Holder.  I don't believe you and I'm reasonably certain neither does Russia.  Hopefully that country will treat your "assertions" with the seriousness they deserve.