Edward Snowden will almost certainly have to watch from Russia as President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January.
President Obama told German newspaper Der Spiegellate last week that he will not pardon Snowden during his final weeks in office despite pressure from a group of high profile human and civil rights groups.
SEE ALSO:Edward Snowden warned us about a president like Donald TrumpSnowden, a former NSA contractor, has lived in exile ever since he worked with various media organizations in 2013 to reveal an array of extensive and intrusive domestic and international spying operations run by the NSA and other agencies. The revelations made headlines for months, and eventually led to curtailing of some of the NSA's surveillance programs.
Postcards with a picture of whistleblower Edward Snowden lying on a table at the Symposium 'Datenspuren 2016.'Credit: Sebastian Kahnert/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images"I can't pardon somebody who hasn't gone before a court and presented themselves, so that's not something that I would comment on at this point," Obama said. "At the point at which Mr. Snowden wants to present himself before the legal authorities and make his arguments or have his lawyers make his arguments, then I think those issues come into play. Until that time, what I've tried to suggest -- both to the American people, but also to the world -- is that we do have to balance this issue of privacy and security."
Obama acknowledged that Snowden had "raised some legitimate concerns," as the president has suggested before, but took issue with Snowden not following "the procedures and practices of our intelligence community."
The president has also been backed up by a letter sent to him in September and signed by members of the House of Representatives's Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
"We urge you not to pardon Edward Snowden, who perpetrated the largest and most damaging public disclosure of classified information in our nation's history," the representatives wrote. "If Mr. Snowden returns from Russia, where he fled in 2013, the U.S. government must hold him accountable for his actions."
Of course, none of this would matter if Obama had a change of heart. The president can pardon Snowden if he wants, trial or no trial, which is why the ACLU, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch came together in September to launch a campaign aimed at getting him to do just that.
Edward Snowden speaks at the launch of a campaign calling on President Obama to pardon him.Credit: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX“Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined,three years ago such an outpouring of solidarity," Snowden said via video at a press conference marking the event. "Even though I'm far from home, your company and your support keeps me company in exile."
The groups set up pardonsnowden.org, which allows users to add their names to a list of people urging the president to issue a pardon. Anyone who signs on will be in famous company. Prominent signees include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Academy Award-winner Patricia Arquette, and famed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.
If Snowden traveled home without a pardon, he'd face trial and the possibility of at least 30 years behind bars for allegedly violating the Espionage Act. An Obama pardon now seems to be out of the question, but according to the campaign's website, the three human and civil rights groups behind it are willing to continue the fight after Trump assumes office.
TopicsCybersecurityPrivacyBarack ObamaDonald Trump
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