President Donald Trump says he is considering a presidential pardon for Edward Snowden. At a press conference, Saturday, the President said he is going to look into it further.
“I’m not that aware of the Snowden situation,” Trump told reporters. “It seems to be a split decision. Many people think he should be somehow treated differently and other people think he did very bad things.”
“I’m going to take a look at that very strongly,” he added.
“There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated fairly. I mean, I hear that,” Trump told the New York Post in an interview. “When you look at [former FBI Director James] Comey and [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe, and [former CIA Director John] Brennan — and, excuse me, the man that sat at this desk, President Obama, got caught spying on my campaign with Biden. Biden and Obama, and they got caught spying on the campaign."
Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency employee, famously leaked information regarding global surveillance programs being conducted by the NSA. His effort prompted national discussion regarding the right to privacy for American citizens.
For his actions, the United States Department of Justice filed charges against Snowden claiming he violated the Espionage Act of 1917.
Snowden is currently living in Russia.
[Via]