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Pardon Snowden

pardonsnowden.org

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Re: Pardon Snowden

#31

Post by JumpCrisscross »

WilliamDhalgren wrote: post #12
spacehome wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Politics is the art of compromise.

Well, from a political point of view, Snowden is just a guy, and he did what he could do already. Pardoned or shot dead, makes little difference now (well, chilling effect is certainly even worse if the latter happened tomorrow, but its bad enough as it is). The important thing would be wistleblower protection laws changes that would protect a future Snowden from this situation.

> Pardoned or shot dead, makes little difference now

Law is built on precedent. This is how a two-hundred year old law about papers in one's house was used to try and pry open an iPhone. It is also why people get rightly indignant about seemingly small things.

In the specific context of the data Snowden exfiltrated, you are correct - a pardon changes little. But for the next Snowden? Or the political climate surrounding his "treason" versus "whistleblowing"? Totally different.

Re: Pardon Snowden

#32

Post by jboynyc »

WilliamDhalgren wrote: post #10

can he do that? pardon someone that hasn't been apprehended nor trialed yet?

In the case of Ford's pardon of Nixon, the pardon covered "any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president," as Wikipedia currently has it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Richard_Nixon

As the entry goes on to state, that was controversial, but it worked. So it should be able to work in a case like this as well.

Re: Pardon Snowden

#33

Post by Freak_NL »

wfunction wrote: post #18

The thing I hate about all petition sites is that they ask for my personal information for... what purpose exactly? They don't even seem to try to verify anything. They just look like scams to me, which is a shame because I really think they shouldn't be...

To prevent ballot stuffing I would assume. With a name and email address you might check the validity of a petition by randomly mailing some of the petition signers to validate that they did sign it themselves.

Re: Pardon Snowden

#37

Post by imron »

allendoerfer wrote: post #20

I think the problem is, people do not care anymore. The scandal is over, business as usual. Only a small percentage of the population still cares about Snowden. I think the image of the NSA has been hurt and a change in legislation might get you some positive press in the future, but I do not think that pardoning Snowden would be worth the effort for a politician. On the other hand: Obama probably does not have to ca…

I think people are confusing your statement of the situation as endorsement of the situation.

The reality is, I think you're right. Sadly, for the majority of people, this is not an issue they care about.

Re: Pardon Snowden

#38

Post by 2T1Qka0rEiPr »

Whatever your opinion on the actual Snowden case - I think pardoning someone is seen to active condone whistle-blowing within the miltary / intelligence community, which I can't see the Government wanting to do.

Re: Pardon Snowden

#40

Post by [deleted] »

nbevans wrote: post #17

But he didn't just leak information concerning his homeland. He actually leaked information about allies of his homeland e.g. the UK. I'm pretty sure that alone will ensure he won't get pardoned. It could cause one of the biggest diplomatic incidents in history between the US and UK. Particularly with Theresa May as PM - who has been instrumental for years in building up the security services powers.

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