Trump faces Republican resistance after floating Snowden pardon
Battle lines were quickly drawn within the GOP after President Trump wavered on his prior stance on Edward Snowden being a traitor worthy of the death penalty, announcing that he is now considering a pardon for the fugitive living in Russia. “I’m not that aware of the Snowden situation, but I’m going to start looking at it,” Trump said after being asked about a possible pardon during a Friday press conference. “There are many, many people — it seems to be a split decision — there are many people who think that he should be somehow treated differently and other people think he did very bad things — and I’m going to take a very good look at it." Snowden, 37, worked at the CIA prior to a stint as a contractor for the National Security Agency. In 2013, he left his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii, flew to Hong Kong, and disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists. Snowden revealed not just domestic surveillance programs but also exposed national security operations conducted around the world by the United States and its allies, including against terrorists and adversaries such as China. Snowden, granted asylum by Russia and living in Moscow, was charged with violating the Espionage Act.
The speculation about a pardon was sparked by a New York Post interview Thursday, in which Trump said, ”There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated fairly.” “I’m one of them,” Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, quickly tweeted out. “@Snowden revealed that Trump-haters [Obama Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper and [FBI Director James] Comey among others were illegally spying on Americans. Clapper lied to Congress about it. @realDonaldTrump should pardon Snowden!” Trump has tweeted about Snowden at least 44 times, repeatedly calling the leaker a “traitor” and a “spy” who had done “tremendous damage to our country” as he lamented that “we are being embarrassed by Russia and China on Snowden.” In April 2014, Trump tweeted, “A spy in the old days, when our country was respected and strong, would be executed.” In May 2015, the future president said: “Snowden is a traitor and a disgrace… He is a coward who should come back & face justice.” Most GOP lawmakers who have spoken out about Snowden over the past few days discouraged Trump from committing to his apparent change of heart.
Rep. Liz Cheney, the congressional representative for Wyoming who has clashed with Trump on a number of foreign policy issues, condemned Snowden over the weekend. “Edward Snowden is a traitor, she said. "He is responsible for the largest and most damaging release of classified info in US history. He handed over US secrets to Russian and Chinese intelligence putting our troops and our nation at risk. Pardoning him would be unconscionable.” Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin called Snowden a “traitor." Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally to the president, also described Snowden's actions as "treasonous." “I’m confident President Trump understands the crimes committed by Snowden resulted in American forces — and those who assisted us throughout the world — being placed in greater danger. Specifically, information released by Snowden jeopardized operations in Iraq & Afghanistan,” the South Carolina Republican tweeted Monday. “To those who suggest a pardon of Edward Snowden for his treasonous acts, you are doing a great disservice to those who suffered from his betrayal of his nation.”
Snowden, too, reacted to the chatter concerning a possible pardon. “Imagine my surprise to find only the worst people in the country willing to speak against a pardon this time around,” Snowden tweeted Monday. “How far we've come!” The House Intelligence Committee, which released a heavily redacted, 36-page report on Snowden in September 2016, argued Snowden “was not a whistleblower” and “was, and remains, a serial exaggerator and fabricator.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-faces-republican-resistance-after-floating-snowden-pardon
Hpsci-Snowden-Review-Declassified.pdf
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3245804/Hpsci-Snowden-Review-Declassified.pdf
hpsci-snowden-let.pdf
https://fas.org/irp/congress/2016_cr/hpsci-snowden-let.pdf