That was the proposition being debated on the Intelligence Squared podcast.

Moderated by ABC News’ John Donvan, the debate featured Daniel Ellsberg (former U.S. Military Analyst and Pentagon Papers Whistleblower) and Ben Wizner (Legal Adviser to Edward Snowden and ACLU Attorney) who argued for the motion; and Andrew C. McCarthy (former Assistant US Attorney and Contributing Editor, National Review) and Ambassador R. James Woolsey (former CIA Director and Chairman of Foundation for Defense of Democracies), who argued against the motion.

Here is description of the debate:

Has Edward Snowden done the U.S. a great service? There is no doubt that his release of highly classified stolen documents has sparked an important public debate, even forcing what could be a major presidential overhaul of the NSA’s surveillance programs. But have his actions-which include the downloading of an estimated 1.7 million files-tipped off our enemies and endangered national security? Is Snowden a whistleblower, or is he a criminal?