Admiral Pressman did nothing wrong.
I’ll say it again. Admiral Pressman did nothing wrong.
The Treaty of Algeron makes no fucking sense. You sign a treaty that denies you access to a critical piece of technology - not just a weapons technology, but an exploration technology. Imagine how improved Starfleet’s expeditions would be if they could cloak to avoid hostile ships, to study pre-warp civilizations. Imagine how much BS Voyager could’ve avoided if they could cloak.
But do we deny the Romulans cloaking technology? The war-mongering civilization that tried to start a war between the Vulcans and Andorians, tried to start a war between the Humans, Andorians and Tellerites? Who bombed Khitomer? Who tried to undermine the Klingons in their own civil war? Who tried to destroy DS9? Who tried to commit a genocide on the Founders, then signed a non-aggression pact with them when they started to invade? No, we don’t deny *them* the use of this critical technology.
What did the Federation even get out of the Treaty of Algeron? Any technological improvements from the Romulan side to make up for the banning of cloaking technology? Nope. Just a “reinforcement” of the Neutral Zone… a Neutral Zone that the Romulans can and do charge over all the time with their cloaked ships, and a “withdrawal” of Romulans from galactic affairs which isn’t even true considering their attacks on Khitomer as well as Jarok and the Norkan massacres. The Federation literally signed a treaty that granted them nothing in return and gave their enemies everything they could have ever wanted…
So Pressman finds a way around it. The Phasing device isn’t even a cloaking device. It doesn’t function like one, it doesn’t operate like one, it just grants a similar tactical advantage. But it also has huge scientific advantages. It is clearly a hugely important piece of technology. Pressman and Starfleet Security really are geniuses for developing it. They were also tired of the BS hamstringing that the BS Treaty of Algeron - which wasn’t worth the toilet paper it was printed on - was doing to the Federation. But then his crew had to go and mutiny, because "m-m-m-m-muh we signed le treaty sir!!!!” Imagine if the Pegasus crew served under Sisko or Janeway…
Riker was correct in helping his captain get off the ship. Those mutineers and terrorists couldn’t get the ship under control and started phasing through shit. Maybe if they had their captain onboard… Then years later, when Pressman discovers the Pegasus is still alive, he rightly orders it be salvaged. And Picard even uses the technology to escape a nasty spot himself. But somehow, because “m-muh treaty violation” that’s not even a violation, Riker backstabs Pressman like Brutus and Picard says he’s going to throw one of the Federation’s greatest heroes in jail(?!?) and then reveals this technology to the crazy belligerent Romulans anyways(!?!?!?!). Is he stupid? I can only hope that when the Dominion showed up and started killing billions of people, the Federation let Pressman out and started slapping phasing devices on every one of their ships, treaty be damned. Maxwell too. Maybe I’ll do a post about him as well.
He invented the phasing device is what he did. He was a brave Federation explorer, and in this sub Admiral Pressman is a hero. End of story!