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Obama Says He Can’t Pardon Snowden

posted by n1 on Tuesday November 22 2016, @02:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the no-and-no-means-no dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

A campaign to pardon NSA leaker Edward Snowden, launched in combination with a fawning Oliver Stone film about him, hasn't made any headway. The request spurred the entire membership of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, 13 Republicans and 9 Democrats, to send a letter to President Barack Obama urging against a pardon. "He is a criminal," they stated flatly.

Obama weighed in on the matter on Friday. During his European tour, he was interviewed by Der Spiegel—the largest newspaper in Germany, a country where Snowden is particularly popular. After discussing a wide range of issues, he was asked: Are you going to pardon Edward Snowden?

Obama replied: "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."

Will the NSA's spying and Snowden's actions come to define Obama's legacy?

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 22 2016, @06:03AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 22 2016, @06:03AM (#431084)

    Too bad Trump already backed out of the idea of prosecuting Hillary [redstate.com], saying the Clintons are "good people" and that he "doesn't want to hurt them".

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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday November 22 2016, @12:03PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday November 22 2016, @12:03PM (#431174) Journal

    I don't expect he will prosecute Hillary either. It would be a pleasant surprise if he would, though. He has to do something to justify his election, and status quo won't cut it. A sharp departure from business as usual is the only thing that will avoid what have followed a Hillary victory.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 22 2016, @02:36PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 22 2016, @02:36PM (#431226)

      Just announced this morning... Trump will not prosecute Hellary.

  • (Score: 2) by jmorris on Tuesday November 22 2016, @07:32PM

    by jmorris (4844) on Tuesday November 22 2016, @07:32PM (#431431)

    Of course he said that. He doesn't want to give Obama any excuse to issue a blanket pardon. And besides, if he said "Lock her up!" now it would be an improper meddling with the justice system. But if the FBI hands the DOJ an airtight case and the DOJ appoints a Special Prosecutor Trump can't object, right? He has to "allow the system of justice to [blah blah]" and if an indictment is returned for serious crimes, which any honest effort WILL produce, then he just has to "be saddened by these serious charges [blah blah]" and watch her wiggle on the hook with his trademark shitlord smirk.