Edward Snowden Requests Pardon

With just a few months left of Barack Obama's presidency, Edward Snowden and sympathetic human rights organizations are preparing to launch the "Pardon Snowden" campaign.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International both have long histories of supporting Snowden. Both believe that Snowden's acts were patriotic because they exposed mass surveillance, which amounts to a human rights violation.

Snowden has lived in exile since 2013. He appears in the US by video link and has been able to assume a relatively full life in Moscow - a stark contrast to Chelsea Manning's life in solitary confinement.

There is no indication that President Obama will grant the pardon. The White House maintains that Snowden's leaks "damaged the United States." 

President Obama has previously said he welcomed the debates that resulted from the leaks and has warned about the dangers of mass surveillance. Public policy changed in response to information contained in the leaks. Snowden is trying to appeal to President Obama's sense of morality.

"Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing, but that is perhaps why the pardon power exists - for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things, these were vital things," Snowden said on Monday via a video link.

History may end up being kind to Snowden, but at this time many Americans still view him as a traitor who should pay for his crimes against his country. Espionage charges carry a sentence of up to 30 years in jail.

Snowden likely has even less of a chance of being pardoned during either a Clinton or Trump presidency. If President Obama does decide to grant the pardon, it wouldn't be the first surprise last-minute pardon in American history.