Pilkington writes: "Bernie Sanders leads a chorus of prominent public
figures calling for clemency, a plea agreement or, in several cases, a full
pardon for the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden."
Edward Snowden. Politicians, activists, scholars and experts are divided on
whether the whistleblower deserves praise or punishment for his actions.
(photo: Alan Rusbridger/Guardian UK)
Pardon Edward Snowden
By Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK
14 September 16
Bernie Sanders, Daniel Ellsberg, former members of the NSA and more weigh in
on whether Obama should grant clemency to the divisive whistleblower
ernie Sanders leads a chorus of prominent public figures calling for
clemency, a plea agreement or, in several cases, a full pardon for the
National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Writing in the Guardian, the runner-up in the race to become Democratic
presidential candidate argues that Snowden helped to educate the American
public about how the NSA violated the constitutional rights of citizens with
its mass surveillance program. Sanders argues that there should be some form
of resolution that would acknowledge both the troubling revelations that
he had brought to light and the crime that he committed in doing so, that
would spare him a long prison sentence or permanent exile.
Sanders joins 20 other prominent public figures from Hollywood actors and
rock musicians to politicians, professors and Black Lives Matter activists
who call on Barack Obama to find some way of allowing Snowden to return home
to the US from exile in Russia. The Guardians voices are raised in the week
that Oliver Stones film, Snowden, is released in the US and that a
coalition of groups including the ACLU and Amnesty International launch a
new campaign for a presidential pardon before Obama steps down.
Among the writers in the Guardian are Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who
released the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, who calls for Snowden to be
allowed to make a public interest defense in any US trial. From the world of
arts, actor Susan Sarandon and director Terry Gilliam, novelist Barry Eisler
and Sonic Youth singer Thurston Moore all make impassioned calls for an
Obama pardon.
Senior politicians from both sides of the Atlantic, including former US
senator Mark Udall, UK parliamentarian David Winnick and German Green party
member Hans-Christian Ströbele all fly the flag for a Snowden homecoming.
Similar calls are made by public intellectuals including Noam Chomsky,
Cornel West and Sanders former Democratic presidential rival and Harvard
law professor, Lawrence Lessig.
Not everyone writing in the Guardian today is empathetic towards the
whistleblower. The former director of the NSA, Michael Hayden, says Snowden
should face the full force of the law were he to come home. Stewart Baker,
also latterly of the NSA, argues that Snowdens leak caused harm to US
national interests a contention that is strongly disputed by many of the
other people writing here.
Bernie Sanders
US senator for Vermont and Democratic presidential runner-up
The information disclosed by Edward Snowden has allowed Congress and the
American people to understand the degree to which the NSA has abused its
authority and violated our constitutional rights.
Now we must learn from the troubling revelations Mr Snowden brought to
light. Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies must be given the tools
they need to protect us, but that can be done in a way that does not
sacrifice our rights.
While Mr Snowden played an important role in educating the American people,
there is no debate that he also violated an oath and committed a crime. In
my view, the interests of justice would be best served if our government
granted him some form of clemency or a plea agreement that would spare him a
long prison sentence or permanent exile.
Susan Sarandon
Oscar-winning actor
Ed Snowden did this country a great service. Here was a man who had a
well-paying job and a good life in Hawaii yet tore it all up so that he
could reveal to all of us what the NSA was doing to us in the name of
national security. He did so for no personal gain, and at massive personal
cost, because he cared about a basic principle: that governments should not
lie to their people.
I dont think a person like that should be exiled from their country. I
dont think a person like that deserves to be locked away for decades like
Chelsea Manning. I think President Obama should do the right thing: pardon
Ed and let him come home to his family and his people.
Daniel Ellsberg
Former US military analyst who released the 1971 Pentagon Papers on the
Vietnam war, and who met Snowden in Moscow last year
Ed Snowden should be freed of the legal burden hanging over him. They should
remove the indictment, pardon him if thats the way to do it, so that he is
no longer facing prison.
The NSA and US government have revealed no evidence that the information Ed
Snowden released has caused any harm. Inconvenience, yes, embarrassment
certainly, but what has truly been revealed is that the NSA itself was
unquestionably committing international, domestic and constitutional crimes.
Were the government to have any evidence that Snowden revealed information
that should have been protected, I think he should be judged by a jury. I
was the first person to be tried for a leak under the Espionage Act, and I
certainly didnt object to my case being weighed by a jury, although it
never came to that. But there has to be a public interest defense, which
doesnt exist in US law now.
As things stand, I think the chance that this or any president will pardon
Snowden is zero. They wouldnt dare to challenge the intelligence community
that remains so hostile to him. Nor does Snowden have any chance of a fair
trial under the Espionage Act, any more than I did.
So nothing would be gained by him coming back and standing trial unless the
Espionage Act were changed to permit that public interest defense. Hes said
to me that hes willing to come back and serve one, two or conceivably three
years as a result of a plea bargain arranged beforehand, but they havent
offered him one as far as Im aware.
Terry Gilliam
Film director and former Monty Python star
I think anyone helping to strengthen the workings of democracy should be
rewarded. What Edward Snowdens prize should be, I dont know, perhaps
something as unglamorous and hard to display on his mantelpiece as a
presidential pardon. That would be nice.
Michael Hayden
Former director of the National Security Agency
What Edward Snowden did amounted to the greatest hemorrhaging of legitimate
American secrets in the history of my nation.
If he wants to come home, and thats his choice, I think he should face the
full force of the law. Then he would be able to mount his defense. I would
not be supportive of a public interest defense, however, because the
American people declare some things to be legal and some things to be
illegal, and dont anoint the individual citizen to decide whether thats a
good or a bad idea.
If Snowden really claims that his actions amounted to genuine civil
disobedience, he should go to some English language bookstore in Moscow and
get a copy of Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience. Thoreau points out
clearly that civil disobedience gets its moral authority by the willingness
to suffer the penalties from disobeying a law, even if you think that law is
unjust.
It would be incredibly unwise for this president to offer a pardon.
President Obama and his successors are dependent on the 100,000-plus people
inside the American intelligence community the people Edward Snowden
betrayed. For any president to align himself with Snowdens approach in this
controversy would carry an incredible cost to the spirit and morale of the
intelligence community.
Malkia Cyril
Executive director of the Center for Media Justice and a Black Lives Matter
activist
Right now, Black Lives Matter activists protesting deadly police and other
forms of state violence who have not been accused of any crime are being
spied on with Stingray cellphone interceptors, tracked through biometric
facial recognition software and license-plate readers, among other things.
And, this isnt limited to black activists.
Black people of all kinds know that since blacks were enslaved in the
western hemisphere, to be black in America is to suffer persistent
surveillance, to be watched as if being black was a spectator sport. How
many black people right now are wearing electronic monitors? Are in
databases we cant get off? Are on the no-fly list? Are living in
communities that are so over-policed they have been turned into open-air
prisons?
This is why Edward Snowden must be pardoned because the ability of black
communities to organize for our collective liberation depends, in part, on
whistleblowers like him. Black movements for peace and freedom demand that
out of the darkness of empire, truth-tellers emerge to sound the alarm.
His revelations directly challenged the commonly held belief that media,
phone and technology corporations must always give into state interests to
target and harass the public. His bravery was a catalyst for the modern
movement to defend democracy from both state and corporate overreach.
Noam Chomsky
Professor of linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
President Obama should provide Edward Snowden with a form of clemency that
would permit him to return home to the United States and still more
appropriately in my view, remove all threats of criminal investigation as
well.
Snowden should, in my opinion, be welcomed home with honors for his service
to his country, and for his courage and integrity in the manner in which he
performed this service. Apart from exceptional circumstances, citizens have
every right to know what their government is doing, in particular what it is
doing to them in the present case, as Snowden revealed to us, keeping
citizens under extensive and deeply intrusive surveillance.
No case has been made that relevant exceptional circumstances prevail. As
well known, initial claims about prevention of terrorist actions collapsed
under investigation, and no credible case has been made that the massive
invasion of privacy, arguably in violation of constitutional rights, is
warranted. Snowden made every effort to follow established procedures for
bringing this crucial information to the general public. When these failed,
he took the courageous and honorable step of transmitting the information
through the medium of careful and highly reliable and experienced
journalists, who, along with him, carefully vetted the material to ensure
that no possible harm would be caused to individuals or to security.
Citizens of the United States and indeed the world, considering the
extraordinary range of the operations that have been revealed are very
much in Snowdens debt. He should certainly not be punished in any way for
the services that he has performed in the interests of democracy and civil
rights. At the very least, he should be granted the full freedom to return
home without fear of prosecution, and, I very much hope, to be welcomed with
the respect that he richly deserves.
Thurston Moore
Singer-songwriter of Sonic Youth
From the perspective of someone born in the friendly 50s in the USA, it has
become normal to witness the uncovering of classified information over time
...
Living in this day in age one would imagine that we so connected now
couldve found a way to share resources in a more socially responsible way.
Its absolutely perplexing to me to try to understand people involved in The
Bilderberg Group, or see people, even friends and colleagues in places such
as Los Angeles, spending hours and hours and hundreds of dollars bleaching
their hair every week and purchasing absurdly priced designer clothing
whilst in travels on the same tours through Europe and witness to young
Syrian refugees or young disenfranchised children and kids in Detroit or
Mexico City or even London on the streets, starved. There is an obvious and
embarrassing injustice.
Simultaneously going to the cinema, there are sometimes
advertisements/campaigns before the trailers to join the military and
there we are in the audience boo-ing! How dare these guys boast their
heartless, imperialist activities in an effort to recruit young people. Its
sickening.
Its difficult to talk about. Its hard to even talk anymore. I listen more
now. We listen to our Palestinian neighbors. We listen to the brave men and
women and trans people fighting for basic rights. We seek out film festivals
and documentary festivals where activist artists bravely tell stories to try
to affect change in communities. We read everything Chelsea Manning has
written. It inspires us. We try to make a more universal music of peace and
love.
We are grateful for the courage and the conscience of the whistleblowers.
Everywhere. From Angela Davis and the Black Panther party in the USA, Anna
Mendelssohn (aka Grace Lake) and Stuart Christie and The Angry Brigade in
the UK and todays activist beauties such as Snowden, Manning, Assange ...
others. All I can say to them is thank you, and try to honour them in my
music. They are heroes. They will be remembered, hopefully honored in their
own lifetime.
Cornel West
Philosopher, civil rights activist and professor at Princeton University
In an age of pervasive mendacity and massive criminality my dear brother
Edward Snowden exemplifies courage and integrity. I call for President Obama
to give him a pardon owing to his public service for truth and democratic
accountability.
Lawrence Wilkerson
Retired US army colonel and former chief of staff to US secretary of state
Colin Powell
Frankly, I believe that were Snowden to return to the US, he would be
treated badly; so much so, that even if he were fully pardoned and could
convince himself that that were truly so he still would still be treated
very badly.
That, sadly, is the nature of our country these days (some would argue we
have always been thus and point to all manner of cases from the Salem witch
trials to Alger Hiss, to the Rosenbergs, to the San Francisco 49ers
quarterback now being shouted down for his refusals with respect to the US
national anthem). Snowdens actions, in many minds, constitute treason. Im
quite certain that most of the following of Donald Trump, for example, would
want him in prison for life at best and hanged at worst.
After listening to Snowden on tape and video multiple times, I believe him
to be a highly courageous and extremely ethical young man. He just might be
the type who could weather such a storm and lead an otherwise productive
life, like Daniel Ellsberg has for example. That might make him a martyr to
some; but he will remain a villain to many others.
Am I for pardoning him? I would have to know a great deal more about the
real impacts of his revelations not the lies the government tells before
I could formulate my view. None of this truth is about to be forthcoming, so
I really cannot make an informed judgment. Its shameful because I dont
think any reasonable citizen can.
Mishi Choudhary
Technology lawyer
The essence of Americas precious freedom is the right to speak up. For
people all over the world, especially in countries where whistleblowers
only fate is death, Snowden has become a symbol of citizenship and moral
courage. He has changed the way we feel about possibility of freedom.
He has taught us that in times of moral crisis, neutrality is not the side
we want to be on. In pardoning Snowden, America strengthens itself and the
ideas it stands for. Bring him home, honor him.
Barry Eisler
Bestselling novelist and former covert CIA operative
I wholeheartedly support a full presidential pardon for whistleblower Edward
Snowden.
As a CIA officer 25 years ago, I knew the government classified too much
information. Everyone knew it. But no one spoke up. And today the problem is
far worse.
But because of Edward Snowden, we now know the head of US intelligence was
lying to the Senate committee responsible for intelligence oversight.
Programs concealed from the citizenry have been declared unconstitutional by
federal courts. For the first time, the country has the minimal information
necessary to grapple with the benefits and dangers of a surveillance
apparatus far more vast and intrusive even than the one Senator Frank Church
warned 40 years ago could lead to the eradication of privacy and the
imposition of tyranny.
Surely in a democracy, the people have a right to know about the
implementation of programs with risks as vast as that. Surely in a
democracy, the people have a need to know.
That today we do know, that today we are able to engage in this critical
conversation about how properly to govern ourselves, is almost entirely due
to the conscience and courage of one man: Edward Snowden. For his service to
his country, he deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom. But a presidential
pardon might be acknowledgment enough.
Susan Buck-Morss
Philosopher and professor of political science at the CUNY Graduate Center
The charge of espionage against Snowden makes no sense. How can he be guilty
as an agent of an enemy power, when his goal was to defend the people of the
United States against secret and illegal actions by their own government?
A line between hero and traitor in this case is impossible to draw. And that
is the deeper issue. What would a pardon of Edward Snowden signal? It would
acknowledge the very principle of democratic rule. Nothing protects us from
the abuses of executive power more effectively than their exposure by
individual citizens who make them public and sound the alarm.
David Winnick
UK member of parliament and vice-chair of the Home Affairs Committee
From the start I thought that Edward Snowden had made a significant
contribution in revealing the excesses and, in some instances, illegal
surveillance carried out by US agencies.
If not for his actions, there would not have been the tightening up of such
operations and we would never have known how even leaders of various
democracies, such as Chancellor Merkel, had their phones tapped by the
National Security Agency.
A half a century ago, Daniel Ellsberg was denounced in the US as a traitor
for releasing the Pentagon Papers, which contained information concealed
from the public about the war being waged against Vietnam. His actions have
long since been vindicated, and there is a general consensus that what he
did was absolutely right. Mr Ellsberg has strenuously defended Edward
Snowden.
Hans-Christian Ströbele
Green party member of the German Bundestag
When I met Edward Snowden in Moscow in October 2013, he told me that he
would eventually like to live in a country where democracy and the rule of
law are respected. I can think of two ways to make that happen.
First, President Obama could pardon Snowden at the end of his last term, in
the way other outgoing presidents have done in the past. Second, Snowden
could be awarded the Nobel peace prize, which would bestow him a certain
degree of immunity in the US even if he isnt pardoned: during the cold war,
for example, we saw that Soviet Union was unwilling to prosecute people who
had been awarded with such an internationally recognised honour.
The key to both of these solutions doesnt lie in our hands, but there is
something we all can do. Like Oliver Stones new film, we can try to help
emphasise that there is another side to Snowdens story than the one that
prevails in the US media: that this is a man with a lot of integrity, who
did a great merit for the civil rights and privacy for the mankind and who
knew what he was doing when making a extremely risky decision.
Cindy Cohn
Executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Whistleblower Edward Snowdens disclosures provided powerful confirmation
that the NSA was spying on the digital lives of hundreds of millions of
innocent people, undermining digital security and attacking American
companies. The leaks caused a sea change in policy and secrecy related to
government spying that led to the first piece of legislation to rein in the
NSA in over 30 years, reform to the secret Fisa court, and significant,
long-overdue public releases of critical information by the government about
its spying on innocent Americans as well as millions of others around the
world.
The information he revealed was critical to starting a conversation about
realigning a broken relationship between the intelligence community and the
public. His motivations and the impact of the leaks were clearly to
benefit the public and restore privacy and security to the internet.
The heavy price that the government seeks to exact indicting him under the
Espionage Act as if he had sold secrets to an enemy with no chance of
explaining the broader public benefit is wrong. Snowdens behavior both
before and after he brought this information to the media is that of a
whistleblower who brought necessary public attention to a corrupt
surveillance system still in need of further reform.
Mark Udall
Former US senator for Colorado and member of the select committee on
intelligence
Strong oversight of our intelligence agencies is essential so the American
people trust what they are doing to keep us safe. That trust was shaken when
Edward Snowden disclosed the disconcerting truths about US surveillance that
fueled my years-long effort, alongside Senator Wyden, to end the dragnet,
warrantless collection of Americans communication records. Although
Snowdens actions aided my push for reform, the fact remains that Snowden
broke an oath he willingly took to protect our national security and
classified secrets.
I do not believe the president should pardon Snowden. You can make the case
that he did our nation a service, and that is why I believe he should return
to the United States to make that argument in court and to the public.
Ron Wyden
US senator for Oregon
Im not going to sit in judgment on pending criminal charges, though I
certainly dont think there should be a double standard where defenders of
particular programs can disclose classified information get and off
scot-free, while critics of those programs go to prison.
I think its very clear that mass surveillance was never going to end until
the public found out about it. Thats why I spent years urging the Bush and
Obama administrations to begin this discussion with the public. I wish this
debate had started earlier, but Im glad its happening now.
Karen Greenberg
Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University
What if there hadnt been a Snowden? A program that violated the principles
that this country holds dear may have continued to this day. A program that
an appellate court in New York found illegal, that was so egregious in terms
of law and civil liberties, may have continued or even been expanded.
Edward Snowden was immensely important and will only become more important
as time goes on. Not only did he show the American public what was being
done in their name and to them, he ended a program which, upon examination,
national security and legal experts concluded did not work.
When considering whether or not he deserves to be pardoned, the president
should remember that even former attorney general Eric Holder said that
Snowden performed a public service. His revelations were the tidal wave the
nation needed to change its ways. The importance of what he did for the
country outweighs the law that he violated and the just move is a pardon for
Edward Snowden.
Ladar Levison
Owner of webmail service Lavabit that he shut down in 2013 rather than
comply with US government orders to facilitate spying on Snowden
Snowden has stated he would be willing to stand and be judged by a jury of
peers, but doesnt believe he would receive a fair trail. I believe the
conduct I encountered proves his contention. The individuals responsible for
investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating his actions have lied in court,
ignored conflicts of interest and irrevocably tainted the evidence against
him. I believe it amounts to prosecutorial misconduct.
The charges against Snowden should be dismissed with prejudice; just like
the case against Daniel Ellsberg was dismissed. To quote Judge Byrne, from
his decision in 1973: The totality of the circumstances of this case offend
a sense of justice.
On the other hand, I think asking President Obama to pardon him is a lost
cause. Snowden revealed misconduct by the very person who is being asked to
grant him the pardon. If we were to petition anyone, it should be Congress,
or possibly the four presidential candidates (Republican, Democratic,
Libertarian, Green).
Lawrence Lessig
Law professor at Harvard Law School and former Democratic presidential
candidate in 2016
There should be nothing less than a full pardon. The information that
Snowden released to the public was critical: it made Americans aware of the
way the law was being violated or at least subverted by unchecked government
officials.
Then there was the manner in which he released the information. It was
careful and limited, given the unresponsiveness he had experienced inside
the NSA and from other branches of government.
Whistleblowing is an essential part of the architecture of checking
government power. Weve recognized the importance of whistleblowers in the
past, and its entirely appropriate that Obama now recognizes the role that
Snowden played in America in exposing the way in which extraordinary power
was abused. Stewart Baker
Former general counsel of the National Security Agency
I am not in the pardon Snowden camp. And the longer he stays away, the
fewer people will be in that camp.
In the early days after his leaks, Snowden was a bit of a paradox a
plausible, intelligent commentator who seemed to have done something that
was irresponsible at best and actively hostile to US national security at
worst. We were just not sure what to make of him.
But the public benefits of those leaks were spent within a week or two, as
they spurred a genuine debate about surveillance. And it turned out they
could have been achieved by leaking three or four documents.
In the years since then, the massive flood unleashed by Snowden has been
used for one purpose only to harm US intelligence and national interests
by exposing perfectly legitimate intelligence sources and methods.
As the debate wanes, the ongoing harm to the United States remains front and
center. So the longer he stays away the more he becomes, in reality and in
perception, simply one of Putins tools. And a willing tool to boot, one
suspects. That fact naturally casts a new and unflattering light on his
deeds in 2013.
Salil Shetty
Secretary-general of Amnesty International
Edward Snowden clearly acted in the public interest. He sparked one of the
most important debates about government surveillance in decades, and brought
about a global movement in defence of privacy in the digital age. Punishing
him for this sends out the dangerous message that those who witness human
rights violations behind closed doors should not speak out.
It is ironic that it is Snowden who is being treated like a spy when his act
of courage drew attention to the fact that the US and UK governments were
illegally spying on millions of people without their consent.
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Edward Snowden. Politicians, activists, scholars and experts are divided on
whether the whistleblower deserves praise or punishment for his actions.
(photo: Alan Rusbridger/Guardian UK)
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Pardon Edward Snowden
By Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK
14 September 16
Bernie Sanders, Daniel Ellsberg, former members of the NSA and more weigh in
on whether Obama should grant clemency to the divisive whistleblower
ernie Sanders leads a chorus of prominent public figures calling for
clemency, a plea agreement or, in several cases, a full pardon for the
National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Writing in the Guardian, the runner-up in the race to become Democratic
presidential candidate argues that Snowden helped to educate the American
public about how the NSA violated the constitutional rights of citizens with
its mass surveillance program. Sanders argues that there should be some form
of resolution that would acknowledge both the troubling revelations that
he had brought to light and the crime that he committed in doing so, that
would spare him a long prison sentence or permanent exile.
Sanders joins 20 other prominent public figures from Hollywood actors and
rock musicians to politicians, professors and Black Lives Matter activists
who call on Barack Obama to find some way of allowing Snowden to return home
to the US from exile in Russia. The Guardians voices are raised in the week
that Oliver Stones film, Snowden, is released in the US and that a
coalition of groups including the ACLU and Amnesty International launch a
new campaign for a presidential pardon before Obama steps down.
Among the writers in the Guardian are Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who
released the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, who calls for Snowden to be
allowed to make a public interest defense in any US trial. From the world of
arts, actor Susan Sarandon and director Terry Gilliam, novelist Barry Eisler
and Sonic Youth singer Thurston Moore all make impassioned calls for an
Obama pardon.
Senior politicians from both sides of the Atlantic, including former US
senator Mark Udall, UK parliamentarian David Winnick and German Green party
member Hans-Christian Ströbele all fly the flag for a Snowden homecoming.
Similar calls are made by public intellectuals including Noam Chomsky,
Cornel West and Sanders former Democratic presidential rival and Harvard
law professor, Lawrence Lessig.
Not everyone writing in the Guardian today is empathetic towards the
whistleblower. The former director of the NSA, Michael Hayden, says Snowden
should face the full force of the law were he to come home. Stewart Baker,
also latterly of the NSA, argues that Snowdens leak caused harm to US
national interests a contention that is strongly disputed by many of the
other people writing here.
Bernie Sanders
US senator for Vermont and Democratic presidential runner-up
The information disclosed by Edward Snowden has allowed Congress and the
American people to understand the degree to which the NSA has abused its
authority and violated our constitutional rights.
Now we must learn from the troubling revelations Mr Snowden brought to
light. Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies must be given the tools
they need to protect us, but that can be done in a way that does not
sacrifice our rights.
While Mr Snowden played an important role in educating the American people,
there is no debate that he also violated an oath and committed a crime. In
my view, the interests of justice would be best served if our government
granted him some form of clemency or a plea agreement that would spare him a
long prison sentence or permanent exile.
Susan Sarandon
Oscar-winning actor
Ed Snowden did this country a great service. Here was a man who had a
well-paying job and a good life in Hawaii yet tore it all up so that he
could reveal to all of us what the NSA was doing to us in the name of
national security. He did so for no personal gain, and at massive personal
cost, because he cared about a basic principle: that governments should not
lie to their people.
I dont think a person like that should be exiled from their country. I
dont think a person like that deserves to be locked away for decades like
Chelsea Manning. I think President Obama should do the right thing: pardon
Ed and let him come home to his family and his people.
Daniel Ellsberg
Former US military analyst who released the 1971 Pentagon Papers on the
Vietnam war, and who met Snowden in Moscow last year
Ed Snowden should be freed of the legal burden hanging over him. They should
remove the indictment, pardon him if thats the way to do it, so that he is
no longer facing prison.
The NSA and US government have revealed no evidence that the information Ed
Snowden released has caused any harm. Inconvenience, yes, embarrassment
certainly, but what has truly been revealed is that the NSA itself was
unquestionably committing international, domestic and constitutional crimes.
Were the government to have any evidence that Snowden revealed information
that should have been protected, I think he should be judged by a jury. I
was the first person to be tried for a leak under the Espionage Act, and I
certainly didnt object to my case being weighed by a jury, although it
never came to that. But there has to be a public interest defense, which
doesnt exist in US law now.
As things stand, I think the chance that this or any president will pardon
Snowden is zero. They wouldnt dare to challenge the intelligence community
that remains so hostile to him. Nor does Snowden have any chance of a fair
trial under the Espionage Act, any more than I did.
So nothing would be gained by him coming back and standing trial unless the
Espionage Act were changed to permit that public interest defense. Hes said
to me that hes willing to come back and serve one, two or conceivably three
years as a result of a plea bargain arranged beforehand, but they havent
offered him one as far as Im aware.
Terry Gilliam
Film director and former Monty Python star
I think anyone helping to strengthen the workings of democracy should be
rewarded. What Edward Snowdens prize should be, I dont know, perhaps
something as unglamorous and hard to display on his mantelpiece as a
presidential pardon. That would be nice.
Michael Hayden
Former director of the National Security Agency
What Edward Snowden did amounted to the greatest hemorrhaging of legitimate
American secrets in the history of my nation.
If he wants to come home, and thats his choice, I think he should face the
full force of the law. Then he would be able to mount his defense. I would
not be supportive of a public interest defense, however, because the
American people declare some things to be legal and some things to be
illegal, and dont anoint the individual citizen to decide whether thats a
good or a bad idea.
If Snowden really claims that his actions amounted to genuine civil
disobedience, he should go to some English language bookstore in Moscow and
get a copy of Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience. Thoreau points out
clearly that civil disobedience gets its moral authority by the willingness
to suffer the penalties from disobeying a law, even if you think that law is
unjust.
It would be incredibly unwise for this president to offer a pardon.
President Obama and his successors are dependent on the 100,000-plus people
inside the American intelligence community the people Edward Snowden
betrayed. For any president to align himself with Snowdens approach in this
controversy would carry an incredible cost to the spirit and morale of the
intelligence community.
Malkia Cyril
Executive director of the Center for Media Justice and a Black Lives Matter
activist
Right now, Black Lives Matter activists protesting deadly police and other
forms of state violence who have not been accused of any crime are being
spied on with Stingray cellphone interceptors, tracked through biometric
facial recognition software and license-plate readers, among other things.
And, this isnt limited to black activists.
Black people of all kinds know that since blacks were enslaved in the
western hemisphere, to be black in America is to suffer persistent
surveillance, to be watched as if being black was a spectator sport. How
many black people right now are wearing electronic monitors? Are in
databases we cant get off? Are on the no-fly list? Are living in
communities that are so over-policed they have been turned into open-air
prisons?
This is why Edward Snowden must be pardoned because the ability of black
communities to organize for our collective liberation depends, in part, on
whistleblowers like him. Black movements for peace and freedom demand that
out of the darkness of empire, truth-tellers emerge to sound the alarm.
His revelations directly challenged the commonly held belief that media,
phone and technology corporations must always give into state interests to
target and harass the public. His bravery was a catalyst for the modern
movement to defend democracy from both state and corporate overreach.
Noam Chomsky
Professor of linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
President Obama should provide Edward Snowden with a form of clemency that
would permit him to return home to the United States and still more
appropriately in my view, remove all threats of criminal investigation as
well.
Snowden should, in my opinion, be welcomed home with honors for his service
to his country, and for his courage and integrity in the manner in which he
performed this service. Apart from exceptional circumstances, citizens have
every right to know what their government is doing, in particular what it is
doing to them in the present case, as Snowden revealed to us, keeping
citizens under extensive and deeply intrusive surveillance.
No case has been made that relevant exceptional circumstances prevail. As
well known, initial claims about prevention of terrorist actions collapsed
under investigation, and no credible case has been made that the massive
invasion of privacy, arguably in violation of constitutional rights, is
warranted. Snowden made every effort to follow established procedures for
bringing this crucial information to the general public. When these failed,
he took the courageous and honorable step of transmitting the information
through the medium of careful and highly reliable and experienced
journalists, who, along with him, carefully vetted the material to ensure
that no possible harm would be caused to individuals or to security.
Citizens of the United States and indeed the world, considering the
extraordinary range of the operations that have been revealed are very
much in Snowdens debt. He should certainly not be punished in any way for
the services that he has performed in the interests of democracy and civil
rights. At the very least, he should be granted the full freedom to return
home without fear of prosecution, and, I very much hope, to be welcomed with
the respect that he richly deserves.
Thurston Moore
Singer-songwriter of Sonic Youth
From the perspective of someone born in the friendly 50s in the USA, it has
become normal to witness the uncovering of classified information over time
...
Living in this day in age one would imagine that we so connected now
couldve found a way to share resources in a more socially responsible way.
Its absolutely perplexing to me to try to understand people involved in The
Bilderberg Group, or see people, even friends and colleagues in places such
as Los Angeles, spending hours and hours and hundreds of dollars bleaching
their hair every week and purchasing absurdly priced designer clothing
whilst in travels on the same tours through Europe and witness to young
Syrian refugees or young disenfranchised children and kids in Detroit or
Mexico City or even London on the streets, starved. There is an obvious and
embarrassing injustice.
Simultaneously going to the cinema, there are sometimes
advertisements/campaigns before the trailers to join the military and
there we are in the audience boo-ing! How dare these guys boast their
heartless, imperialist activities in an effort to recruit young people. Its
sickening.
Its difficult to talk about. Its hard to even talk anymore. I listen more
now. We listen to our Palestinian neighbors. We listen to the brave men and
women and trans people fighting for basic rights. We seek out film festivals
and documentary festivals where activist artists bravely tell stories to try
to affect change in communities. We read everything Chelsea Manning has
written. It inspires us. We try to make a more universal music of peace and
love.
We are grateful for the courage and the conscience of the whistleblowers.
Everywhere. From Angela Davis and the Black Panther party in the USA, Anna
Mendelssohn (aka Grace Lake) and Stuart Christie and The Angry Brigade in
the UK and todays activist beauties such as Snowden, Manning, Assange ...
others. All I can say to them is thank you, and try to honour them in my
music. They are heroes. They will be remembered, hopefully honored in their
own lifetime.
Cornel West
Philosopher, civil rights activist and professor at Princeton University
In an age of pervasive mendacity and massive criminality my dear brother
Edward Snowden exemplifies courage and integrity. I call for President Obama
to give him a pardon owing to his public service for truth and democratic
accountability.
Lawrence Wilkerson
Retired US army colonel and former chief of staff to US secretary of state
Colin Powell
Frankly, I believe that were Snowden to return to the US, he would be
treated badly; so much so, that even if he were fully pardoned and could
convince himself that that were truly so he still would still be treated
very badly.
That, sadly, is the nature of our country these days (some would argue we
have always been thus and point to all manner of cases from the Salem witch
trials to Alger Hiss, to the Rosenbergs, to the San Francisco 49ers
quarterback now being shouted down for his refusals with respect to the US
national anthem). Snowdens actions, in many minds, constitute treason. Im
quite certain that most of the following of Donald Trump, for example, would
want him in prison for life at best and hanged at worst.
After listening to Snowden on tape and video multiple times, I believe him
to be a highly courageous and extremely ethical young man. He just might be
the type who could weather such a storm and lead an otherwise productive
life, like Daniel Ellsberg has for example. That might make him a martyr to
some; but he will remain a villain to many others.
Am I for pardoning him? I would have to know a great deal more about the
real impacts of his revelations not the lies the government tells before
I could formulate my view. None of this truth is about to be forthcoming, so
I really cannot make an informed judgment. Its shameful because I dont
think any reasonable citizen can.
Mishi Choudhary
Technology lawyer
The essence of Americas precious freedom is the right to speak up. For
people all over the world, especially in countries where whistleblowers
only fate is death, Snowden has become a symbol of citizenship and moral
courage. He has changed the way we feel about possibility of freedom.
He has taught us that in times of moral crisis, neutrality is not the side
we want to be on. In pardoning Snowden, America strengthens itself and the
ideas it stands for. Bring him home, honor him.
Barry Eisler
Bestselling novelist and former covert CIA operative
I wholeheartedly support a full presidential pardon for whistleblower Edward
Snowden.
As a CIA officer 25 years ago, I knew the government classified too much
information. Everyone knew it. But no one spoke up. And today the problem is
far worse.
But because of Edward Snowden, we now know the head of US intelligence was
lying to the Senate committee responsible for intelligence oversight.
Programs concealed from the citizenry have been declared unconstitutional by
federal courts. For the first time, the country has the minimal information
necessary to grapple with the benefits and dangers of a surveillance
apparatus far more vast and intrusive even than the one Senator Frank Church
warned 40 years ago could lead to the eradication of privacy and the
imposition of tyranny.
Surely in a democracy, the people have a right to know about the
implementation of programs with risks as vast as that. Surely in a
democracy, the people have a need to know.
That today we do know, that today we are able to engage in this critical
conversation about how properly to govern ourselves, is almost entirely due
to the conscience and courage of one man: Edward Snowden. For his service to
his country, he deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom. But a presidential
pardon might be acknowledgment enough.
Susan Buck-Morss
Philosopher and professor of political science at the CUNY Graduate Center
The charge of espionage against Snowden makes no sense. How can he be guilty
as an agent of an enemy power, when his goal was to defend the people of the
United States against secret and illegal actions by their own government?
A line between hero and traitor in this case is impossible to draw. And that
is the deeper issue. What would a pardon of Edward Snowden signal? It would
acknowledge the very principle of democratic rule. Nothing protects us from
the abuses of executive power more effectively than their exposure by
individual citizens who make them public and sound the alarm.
David Winnick
UK member of parliament and vice-chair of the Home Affairs Committee
From the start I thought that Edward Snowden had made a significant
contribution in revealing the excesses and, in some instances, illegal
surveillance carried out by US agencies.
If not for his actions, there would not have been the tightening up of such
operations and we would never have known how even leaders of various
democracies, such as Chancellor Merkel, had their phones tapped by the
National Security Agency.
A half a century ago, Daniel Ellsberg was denounced in the US as a traitor
for releasing the Pentagon Papers, which contained information concealed
from the public about the war being waged against Vietnam. His actions have
long since been vindicated, and there is a general consensus that what he
did was absolutely right. Mr Ellsberg has strenuously defended Edward
Snowden.
Hans-Christian Ströbele
Green party member of the German Bundestag
When I met Edward Snowden in Moscow in October 2013, he told me that he
would eventually like to live in a country where democracy and the rule of
law are respected. I can think of two ways to make that happen.
First, President Obama could pardon Snowden at the end of his last term, in
the way other outgoing presidents have done in the past. Second, Snowden
could be awarded the Nobel peace prize, which would bestow him a certain
degree of immunity in the US even if he isnt pardoned: during the cold war,
for example, we saw that Soviet Union was unwilling to prosecute people who
had been awarded with such an internationally recognised honour.
The key to both of these solutions doesnt lie in our hands, but there is
something we all can do. Like Oliver Stones new film, we can try to help
emphasise that there is another side to Snowdens story than the one that
prevails in the US media: that this is a man with a lot of integrity, who
did a great merit for the civil rights and privacy for the mankind and who
knew what he was doing when making a extremely risky decision.
Cindy Cohn
Executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Whistleblower Edward Snowdens disclosures provided powerful confirmation
that the NSA was spying on the digital lives of hundreds of millions of
innocent people, undermining digital security and attacking American
companies. The leaks caused a sea change in policy and secrecy related to
government spying that led to the first piece of legislation to rein in the
NSA in over 30 years, reform to the secret Fisa court, and significant,
long-overdue public releases of critical information by the government about
its spying on innocent Americans as well as millions of others around the
world.
The information he revealed was critical to starting a conversation about
realigning a broken relationship between the intelligence community and the
public. His motivations and the impact of the leaks were clearly to
benefit the public and restore privacy and security to the internet.
The heavy price that the government seeks to exact indicting him under the
Espionage Act as if he had sold secrets to an enemy with no chance of
explaining the broader public benefit is wrong. Snowdens behavior both
before and after he brought this information to the media is that of a
whistleblower who brought necessary public attention to a corrupt
surveillance system still in need of further reform.
Mark Udall
Former US senator for Colorado and member of the select committee on
intelligence
Strong oversight of our intelligence agencies is essential so the American
people trust what they are doing to keep us safe. That trust was shaken when
Edward Snowden disclosed the disconcerting truths about US surveillance that
fueled my years-long effort, alongside Senator Wyden, to end the dragnet,
warrantless collection of Americans communication records. Although
Snowdens actions aided my push for reform, the fact remains that Snowden
broke an oath he willingly took to protect our national security and
classified secrets.
I do not believe the president should pardon Snowden. You can make the case
that he did our nation a service, and that is why I believe he should return
to the United States to make that argument in court and to the public.
Ron Wyden
US senator for Oregon
Im not going to sit in judgment on pending criminal charges, though I
certainly dont think there should be a double standard where defenders of
particular programs can disclose classified information get and off
scot-free, while critics of those programs go to prison.
I think its very clear that mass surveillance was never going to end until
the public found out about it. Thats why I spent years urging the Bush and
Obama administrations to begin this discussion with the public. I wish this
debate had started earlier, but Im glad its happening now.
Karen Greenberg
Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University
What if there hadnt been a Snowden? A program that violated the principles
that this country holds dear may have continued to this day. A program that
an appellate court in New York found illegal, that was so egregious in terms
of law and civil liberties, may have continued or even been expanded.
Edward Snowden was immensely important and will only become more important
as time goes on. Not only did he show the American public what was being
done in their name and to them, he ended a program which, upon examination,
national security and legal experts concluded did not work.
When considering whether or not he deserves to be pardoned, the president
should remember that even former attorney general Eric Holder said that
Snowden performed a public service. His revelations were the tidal wave the
nation needed to change its ways. The importance of what he did for the
country outweighs the law that he violated and the just move is a pardon for
Edward Snowden.
Ladar Levison
Owner of webmail service Lavabit that he shut down in 2013 rather than
comply with US government orders to facilitate spying on Snowden
Snowden has stated he would be willing to stand and be judged by a jury of
peers, but doesnt believe he would receive a fair trail. I believe the
conduct I encountered proves his contention. The individuals responsible for
investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating his actions have lied in court,
ignored conflicts of interest and irrevocably tainted the evidence against
him. I believe it amounts to prosecutorial misconduct.
The charges against Snowden should be dismissed with prejudice; just like
the case against Daniel Ellsberg was dismissed. To quote Judge Byrne, from
his decision in 1973: The totality of the circumstances of this case offend
a sense of justice.
On the other hand, I think asking President Obama to pardon him is a lost
cause. Snowden revealed misconduct by the very person who is being asked to
grant him the pardon. If we were to petition anyone, it should be Congress,
or possibly the four presidential candidates (Republican, Democratic,
Libertarian, Green).
Lawrence Lessig
Law professor at Harvard Law School and former Democratic presidential
candidate in 2016
There should be nothing less than a full pardon. The information that
Snowden released to the public was critical: it made Americans aware of the
way the law was being violated or at least subverted by unchecked government
officials.
Then there was the manner in which he released the information. It was
careful and limited, given the unresponsiveness he had experienced inside
the NSA and from other branches of government.
Whistleblowing is an essential part of the architecture of checking
government power. Weve recognized the importance of whistleblowers in the
past, and its entirely appropriate that Obama now recognizes the role that
Snowden played in America in exposing the way in which extraordinary power
was abused. Stewart Baker
Former general counsel of the National Security Agency
I am not in the pardon Snowden camp. And the longer he stays away, the
fewer people will be in that camp.
In the early days after his leaks, Snowden was a bit of a paradox a
plausible, intelligent commentator who seemed to have done something that
was irresponsible at best and actively hostile to US national security at
worst. We were just not sure what to make of him.
But the public benefits of those leaks were spent within a week or two, as
they spurred a genuine debate about surveillance. And it turned out they
could have been achieved by leaking three or four documents.
In the years since then, the massive flood unleashed by Snowden has been
used for one purpose only to harm US intelligence and national interests
by exposing perfectly legitimate intelligence sources and methods.
As the debate wanes, the ongoing harm to the United States remains front and
center. So the longer he stays away the more he becomes, in reality and in
perception, simply one of Putins tools. And a willing tool to boot, one
suspects. That fact naturally casts a new and unflattering light on his
deeds in 2013.
Salil Shetty
Secretary-general of Amnesty International
Edward Snowden clearly acted in the public interest. He sparked one of the
most important debates about government surveillance in decades, and brought
about a global movement in defence of privacy in the digital age. Punishing
him for this sends out the dangerous message that those who witness human
rights violations behind closed doors should not speak out.
It is ironic that it is Snowden who is being treated like a spy when his act
of courage drew attention to the fact that the US and UK governments were
illegally spying on millions of people without their consent.
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