Edward Snowden lawyer vows new push for pardon from Obama

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Edward Snowden lawyer vows new push for pardon from Obama

• Ben Wizner: NSA whistleblower case one ‘for which pardon power exists’
• New York magazine details use of ‘Snowbot' to reach US audiences

Edward Helmore
Monday 27 June 2016 02.00 BST

Lawyers working with Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower who received sanctuary in Russia after fleeing the US, have vowed to step up pressure on Barack Obama’s administration for a presidential pardon.

“We’re going to make a very strong case between now and the end of this administration that this is one of those rare cases for which the pardon power exists,” Ben Wizner, the ACLU lawyer who is Snowden’s principal legal adviser, told New York magazine in a cover story published late on Sunday.

“It’s not for when somebody didn’t break the law. It’s for when they did and there are extraordinary reasons for not enforcing the law against the person.”

Snowden, however, conceded that Obama is unlikely to offer such a pardon before he leaves office.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/26/edward-snowden-lawyer-pardon-obama

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Snowden, dear man, good luck with that. eom

[Adrahil]

2. A Pardon? Screw that guy.

Snowden has no remorse for the release of information on perfectly legitimate foreign intelligence operations. Whatever service he performed in exposing illegitimate domestic programs cannot eliminate his responsibility for his other crimes, at least not without his actual remorse for them. Until then, enjoy sunny Moscow, Eddie! Or hey, maybe put on your big boy pants, come home and make your case. I'd respect that.

[brooklynite]

4. DOJ: A pardon is not a sign of vindication and does not connote or establish innocence

A pardon is not a sign of vindication and does not connote or establish innocence. For that reason, when considering the merits of a pardon petition, pardon officials take into account the petitioner's acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and atonement for the offense.

https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardon-information-and-instructions