system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: If the information Edward Snowden leaked was illegally obtained by the NSA, how has Edward done something wrong? Aren't the NSA the ones in the wrong?

Yes I understand Edward was a staff member, and obtained the info through his employment, but its illegal information that they shouldn't have had in the first place? Also... what would have been considered 'an appropriate way' for him to have dealt with his findings? 
Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just really don't get it.
gpt
Well, a lot of people are making that argument, which is why he's such a polarizing figure.

But from a legal perspective, someone else doing something illegal doesn't make it okay for you to also break the law in most cases. What he did was still a crime, even if you agree with his motivation and the results.