President Obama Stays Silent in Wake of Edward Snowden's Revelations

Better to stay silent and be thought a fool ...

Soon after sensitive national security documents were made public last week, President Barack Obama weighed in, delivering a forceful defense of the surveillance policies described in news stories about the leak.

But since Edward Snowden revealed himself as the source of those documents Sunday, the president has gone silent on the subject.

He has good reason to stay out of the fray: speaking even generally about an ongoing investigation and a potential prosecution is a dangerous gambit for a president, one that could interfere with the Justice Department's work while leaving him open to criticism for politicizing a sensitive security issue.