The Guardian reports that former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden performed a “public service” by leaking government surveillance documents. “We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate that we engaged in and by the changes that we made,” Holder said on an audio program hosted by David Axelrod. “Now, I would say that doing what he did – and the way he did it – was inappropriate and illegal.” Snowden himself has said much the same thing, except for the inappropriate part. Snowden released one of the biggest leaks in American government history in 2013, revealing the extent of the indiscriminate bulk surveillance of U.S. citizens. “I think in deciding what an appropriate sentence should be, I think a judge could take into account the usefulness of having had that national debate,” Holder said.