Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald blasted Dick Cheney on Tuesday night, after the former vice president described Edward Snowden as a “traitor” for leaking NSA secrets.

“Remember, Dick Cheney is a politician who engaged in some of the worst, most radical and criminal conduct in the last century in the United States and did it all in secret — from lying about the war in Iraq to torturing people, to putting people in cages with no lawyers, to eavesdropping on the American people without the warrants required by law,” he told CNN host Anderson Cooper. “So of course political people like Dick Cheney, people in political power always want to do what they do behind a wall of secrecy because that’s how they abuse power.”

“And they always consider those who bring transparency to what they do to be evil, treasonous people,” he continued. “Edward Snowden is considered a hero to people around the world and the United States and received a whistle blowing award because he did what people have conscience do, which is tell that world about things that they should know.”

“That the world’s most powerful people are trying to keep concealed,” Greenwald said. “It’s created a worldwide debate over internet freedom and the value of privacy and dangers of surveillance. It’s created movements for reform and all kinds of legislators around the world including in the United States and the world is much better off that the Dick Cheneys of the world aren’t able to abuse their power in secret.”

There was no evidence that Snowden harmed U.S. national security by leaking information about the NSA’s surveillance practices, the outspoken columnist added. Terrorists already knew they were being spied on.

“What we told the world what they didn’t know is this spying system is directed at innocent people, people that have nothing to do with terrorism,” Greenwald said.

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube, below:

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