NSA Leaks: Snowden Reveals He’s Not Counting On Obama’s Presidential Pardon

In a recent exclusive interview with Yahoo Global News anchor Katie Couric, Edward Snowden stated that he was not counting on the possibility of a pardon from the Obama administration while also admitting that the possibility has never been more likely. This is due to the fact that the issue as to whether Edward will be granted a pardon or not has taken a new dimension with the coming on board of different movements seeking a presidential pardon for him.

One of these is PardonSnowden.org, a coalition of tech bigwigs, policy wonks, and creatives, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; founder and chair of the Soros Management Fund, George Soros; co-founder and CEO Twitter, Jack Dorsey; Tim Berners-Lee who invented the world wide web, and many others. Their over-arching mission is to ensure that President Obama grants Snowden a presidential pardon before the end of his administration.

Similarly, members of a committee that investigated the CIA Watergate era have urged President Obama to show leniency so he can return home. The committee, led by its former chief counsel Frederick Schwarz Jr., argued in an eight-page letter written to the president and Attorney-General Loretta Lynch, that “there is no question that Edward Snowden’s disclosures led to public awareness which stimulated reform.” It concluded by urging the president to negotiate a deal with the ex-NSA contractor so he can come back home.

Supporters of the controversial whistleblower have often argued that Edward’s actions don’t amount to espionage which, when understood within the etymology of its World War I political context, meant the leaking of classified information to other nations. Rather, the argument goes, Snowden’s actions can be described as whistleblowing. They further argue that his disclosures brought about the necessary surveillance reforms, including how government gathers information on its citizens.

Edward Snowden took the intelligence establishment by surprise when, in 2013, he released a trove of internal documents that revealed the hitherto unknown surveillance activities of the National Security Agency (NSA) to the trio of Glen Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Ewen MacAskil. As a result of this, he is being charged with espionage and could face 30 years in jail if he were to return to American shores.

However, President Obama thinks differently. Speaking during a speech at the Justice Department in 2014, he had argued that while Snowden’s whistleblowing played a crucial role in spurring the surveillance reforms he outlined following the leaks, he nevertheless had this to say on the matter.

“Our nation’s defense depends in part on the fidelity of those entrusted with our nation’s secrets. If any individual who objects to government policy can take it in (to) their own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will not be able to keep our people safe or conduct foreign policy.”

Similarly, officials of the current administration notably Defense Secretary Ashton Carter have maintained a staunch disagreement to any proposal for a presidential pardon for the fugitive whistleblower. Speaking at the annual TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, Carter was asked if he held the view that Snowden should be given a presidential pardon for violating the Espionage Act, to which he replied as follows.

“All of us who enjoy the public trust and who handle classified information have a responsibility. And I think to arrogate to oneself the authority and to basically take something that has been entrusted to you, that is something I can’t condone.”

Whichever plays out, Snowden has reiterated that he isn’t afraid of being prosecuted in the United States given that the whole process will be fair and transparent. This is in spite of the fact that the Obama administration, which campaigned on the platform of enlarged government transparency, has used the Espionage Act to prosecute 8 whistleblowers, including Edward Snowden, more than any president before him.

[Featured Image by File/AP Images]