Fox News GOP debate in Detroit MI: on Homeland Security

Donald Trump: Snowden was a spy; if Russia respected us, they'd deport him

CRUZ: As someone who spent much of his life in law enforcement, I believe you should start with the facts and evidence first before ending up with the verdict. When the news first broke of the US government engaging in massive surveillance on American citizens, that was a very troubling development, and it's why the US Congress acted to correct it. Since then, the evidence is clear that Snowden committed treason.

TRUMP: I will tell you right from the beginning, I said Snowden was a spy and we should get him back. And if Russia respected our country, they would have sent him back immediately, but he was a spy. It didn't take me a long time to figure that one out. Believe me.

Ted Cruz: Snowden guilty of treason, but exposed massive surveillance

CRUZ: As someone who spent much of his life in law enforcement, I believe you should start with the facts and evidence first before ending up with the verdict. When the news first broke of the US government engaging in massive surveillance on American citizens, that was a very troubling development, and it's why the Congress acted to correct it. Since then, the evidence is clear that Snowden committed treason. What Snowden did made it easier for terrorists to avoid detection. And Snowden's behavior afterwards--he fled to Russia, he fled to China--indicates that he was not a whistleblower, but instead he was undermining the ability to defend this country.