Edward Snowden speaks via video link at an EU event in Strasbourg in 2019. The US government has repeatedly demanded that he return to face charges under the Espionage Act. Photograph: Vincent Kessler/Reuters
USA Today: Trump says he will look 'very strongly' at granting pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Saturday that he's considering granting a pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden.
“I’m going to take a look at that very strongly,” Trump said during a news conference at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, has been living in exile in Moscow since fleeing the U.S. six years ago after leaking information on the nation's most secretive spy agencies and their programs. His revelations triggered a debate over government eavesdropping, with some hailing him as a hero and others calling him a traitor.
Trump said that he is “not that aware of the Snowden situation” but that people on both the left and the right are divided over the former contractor.
"It seems to be a split decision," he said. “Many people think he should be somehow treated differently, and other people think he did very bad things."
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WNU Editor: I do not think President Trump is serious about pardoning Edward Snowden. But I do see President Trump using Edward Snowden as a tool against the US intel community that if they interfere in the US Presidential election, he will pardon Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.
Update: The US government still wants to seize his Edward Snowden's money .... Edward Snowden has taken $1.2m in speaking fees in exile, US filing says (The Guardian).
