After Saying Many Times That Edward Snowden Is A Spy Who Should Be Executed, Trump May Grant Pardon

August 16, 2020 Trump Corruption, Trump Lies

The Guardian reports:

Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would look at the issue of giving a pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Snowden disclosed highly classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013. He revealed the news covertly to the Guardian after he fled to Hong Kong, before flying to Moscow to avoid extradition back to America. He currently lives in Russia.

Snowden’s revelations of the extent of American communications surveillance caused a major domestic and international scandal and triggered an intense debate over government eavesdropping. To many civil liberties advocate Snowden became a hero, but to others he is seen as a traitor.

Reuters reports:



Snowden’s Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told RIA news agency the United States should not simply pardon him, but should drop all possible prosecutions against Snowden as he had not commited any crimes.

“He was acting not only in the interest of the American citizens, but in the interest of all the humankind,” Kucherena said. Trump’s softening stance toward Snowden represents a sharp reversal. Shortly after the leaks, Trump expressed hostility toward Snowden, calling him “a spy who should be executed.”

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit last September against Snowden, arguing that the memoir he published last year, “Permanent Record,” violated non-disclosure agreements.

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