The tale of whistleblower Edward Snowden is well-known to the US public and the world: while working at the National Security Agency, he covertly amassed evidence of wrongful government surveillance, disclosed this information to journalists at The Guardian, and then fled the country and has been living in asylum ever since.
Few revelations have had more of an impact on public policy than “The NSA Files.”
Since their release, the US government has had to enforce greater transparency and accountability in its surveillance tactics. Technology companies have embraced stronger encryption mechanisms. Debates over what digital privacy should entail have raged around the world. And Snowden’s initial warning of government overreach has expanded into a full-throated defense of global human rights.
.@Snowden proved beyond a doubt that govts have systematically violated your rights ACT NOW>>https://t.co/1DevFF3Caipic.twitter.com/6a7WOoFPgD
— AmnestyCanada (@AmnestyNow) September 9, 2016
“Snowden should be remembered as a human rights champion for the public service he performed,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General.
Yet, Snowden faces upwards of 30 years in prison if he returns to the US. He could be locked up for life, chilling the possibility of future whistleblowers coming forward with sensitive information that serves the public interest and exposes wrongdoing.
Currently, he’s stranded in Russia, one of the few countries that will host him, where he leads an organization called Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Snowden did, in fact, violate the terms of his contract by siphoning top-secret government information, and the government believes this was a violation of the 1917 Espionage Act, and other laws.
But his actions are widely considered to have served the public interest. After all, the government should serve the public in all that it does. When a government begins to betray this promise, then its course should be righted. Snowden, by revealing how brazenly invasive the NSA had become, helped to reform the government and benefit the public.
This awareness has led many high-profile organizations and people to call for a pardon.
Such calls have surged in recent weeks as the 2016 presidential election approaches and Barack Obama’s term comes to an end. A new biopic on Snowden has also intensified and given a base to the push for a pardon.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch are three organizations with tremendous legal clout who have led the campaign.
.@Snowden –a whistleblower who stood up for our rights. @POTUS: #pardonsnowdenhttps://t.co/0leUChMnMY@hitRECordJoepic.twitter.com/KH1dn3t8JU
— AmnestyInternational (@AmnestyOnline) September 14, 2016
Obama, do the right thing: recognize the huge service Snowden did us all and pardon him. https://t.co/8SJNmerK5bpic.twitter.com/pwl8szwjXv
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) September 14, 2016
The interests of justice would be best served if our government granted @Snowden some form of clemency. https://t.co/BgMZdaRlg1
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 14, 2016
I think Obama should @PardonSnowden. So does @ACLU, @AmnestyOnline, @hrw. Don't you? https://t.co/A6XhCaL2JO
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) September 14, 2016
The fight for amnesty, however, will be an uphill battle.
"Mr. Snowden has been charged with serious crimes, and it's the policy of the administration that Mr. Snowden should return to the United States and face those charges," said Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, to CNN.
"The fact is the manner in which Mr. Snowden chose to disclose this information damaged the United States, harmed our national security, and put the American people at greater risk," he added.
Obama has called for Snowden’s prosecution and his administration has aggressively gone after whistleblowers, but advocates are holding out hope that he would be more likely to pardon Snowden than his potential successors.
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have shown little sympathy for Snowden, with Trump calling him a “total traitor” whom he would “deal with harshly.”
Meanwhile, Eric Holder, the former attorney general in the Obama administration, has called Snowden’s work a useful public service.
Supporters of Snowden glean in this acknowledgement the possibility for a pardon.
Plus, Obama has already shown an inclination to make politically difficult decisions in his final year in office to bolster his legacy. He has used executive authority to increase action against climate change, protect immigrants, and commute a record number of prison sentences, among many other moves.
Thousands of pardons have been issued in US history. Pardoning Snowden would be more politically explosive than the vast majority of cases, but it could also signal to the rest of the world that the US intends to pursue an open society where dissent is tolerated.
Protecting the most significant US whistleblower of modern history would also, no doubt, add to Obama’s legacy.
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