Trump appears to soften on ‘Snowden a traitor’ stance, as supporters renew calls for pardon
‘Not treated fairly’?
RT-USA News
Despite having called National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden a “traitor” numerous times in the past, President Donald Trump now acknowledges that the former CIA contractor may have been “treated unfairly.”
“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 about Snowden, the former Central Intelligence Agency subcontractor best known as the whistleblower who exposed massive, warrantless surveillance of American citizens being carried out by the NSA back in 2013.
Snowden has since been a fugitive from the US and self-exiled in Moscow, where he ended up stranded while in air transit, after his American passport was revoked in June 2013.
During the interview, Trump acknowledged that the Department of Justice could be seeking to extradite Snowden soon, but said he might “look into” the matter, which many have taken as a suggestion that a pardon could be a possibility.
“It’s certainly something I could look at. Many people are on his side, I will say that. I don’t know him, never met him. But many people are on his side,” Trump said.
“I’ve heard it both ways. From traitor to his being, you know, persecuted. I’ve heard it both ways,” he added, after polling the White House officials in the room with him on their thoughts on Snowden.
Trump’s comments stand in stark contrast to his original position on Snowden, whom he has called a traitor and even demanded ought to be executed.
The softening of his position has provoked many on Twitter to renew their calls for a pardon for Snowden.
“I think @Snowden should be allowed to return to the US without facing criminal charges. His revelations were vital to a much-needed reckoning of govt overreach. Come on @realDonaldTrump, pardon him,” Reason editor-at-large Nick Gillespie tweeted.
Trump’s statement — that “a lot of people “think Edward Snowden is “not being treated fairly” — is factually indisputable: https://t.co/34YRG40USm pic.twitter.com/H0d3VlXUF8
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 14, 2020
***
.@realDonaldTrump should pardon Edward @Snowden. https://t.co/TOuw46Cb9s
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) August 14, 2020
Trump’s comments soon came to the attention of Snowden himself. “The last time we heard a White House considering a pardon was 2016, when the very same Attorney General who once charged me conceded that, on balance, my work in exposing the NSA’s unconstitutional system of mass surveillance had been ‘a public service,’” he wrote in reaction to the interview.
*********
(TLB) published this article from RT-USA News and was edited for space by (TLB) editors.
••••
••••
Stay tuned to …
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply