A Chance to Emerge from the Snow-Den?

Elizabeth Bratton discusses the possibility of American whistleblower Edward Snowden being pardoned. Having been granted asylum in Russia, the ex-government employee has resided in Russia since 2013. Until this month, Trump had shown no signs of forgiveness, and argued Snowden should be executed. While many would welcome an official pardon, others fear the president would be compromising national security.

37 year-old Edward Snowden copied and leaked classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013. He was working here as a subcontractor, and the exposed secrets told of “government information-gathering programs”. Among the information revealed was a court order that “compelled” telecommunications giant Verizon to reveal “metadata”, including customers’ phone contacts and the duration of their calls. Snowden also leaked information about “PRISM”: the code name for a government-run surveillance program that collected communications data from a range of internet platforms. PRISM reportedly gave the NSA, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Government Communication Headquarters “direct access” to servers of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple. In June 2013, The Guardian and The Washington Post published the leaked information, although the source remained anonymous. Snowden revealed himself, and was subsequently charged with espionage. He was granted asylum in Russia, and still resides there today.

In an interview on Saturday the 15th of August, Donald Trump said he would “take a look” at pardoning the American whistleblower. Having previously described the man as a “traitor” who should be “executed”, the move has been met with some surprise. Prior to his election in 2016, Trump had denounced Snowden in at least 45 tweets. The revelation came after an interview was published in the New York Post, in which the president acknowledged concerns surrounding Snowden’s treatment. If this move was to be honoured, Snowden may be able to return to the USA. Currently, he refuses to leave Russia, as he would likely face prison time.

Since Snowden was charged in 2013, human rights groups have continuously appealed the decision. Their campaigning persisted throughout the Obama administration, although their efforts were to no avail. In 2014, John Kerry, secretary of state said Snowden “should man up and come back to the US”. The Pardon Snowden petition reached 1 million signatures in 2017, and despite being presented to the White House, was never acted upon.

Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, believes the government should go further than pardoning Snowden, and drop all potential prosecution charges. He argues that his client “was acting not only in the interest of the American citizens, but in the interest of all the humankind”. On September 17 of last year, Snowden published his autobiography: Permanent Record. The book’s release was met with a lawsuit from the US Justice Department; it was claimed Snowden had violated non-disclosure agreements.

Bloomberg Opinion columnist Eli Lake believes a pardon could “backfire” against Trump. He argues that Snowden would not have received such generous treatment from the Russian state, unless he had cooperated in some form. However, Snowden remains adamant that, upon his arrival at Moscow airport, he refused to collaborate with Russian intelligence. If I had played ball”, Snowden explained, “I would have left on Day 1 in a limo; I would have been living in a palace; you would have seen them giving me parades in Red Square." Snowden also explained that he had no data to provide, having destroyed it all after a visit to Hong Kong during which he leaked NSA secrets. However, Lake remains sceptical; Snowden has been permitted to lead a “rich online life”, and his girlfriend was allowed to live with him.

It has recently been revealed that, while in exile, Snowden has made $1.2 million in speaking fees. The US federal government is trying to strip him of these profits, in addition to those generated by his autobiography. The money generated from speeches encompasses a total of 67 engagements, including a presentation to Hong Kong brokerage CSLA in 2015. This event alone earnt him $50,000, while a speech to Deutsche Telekom in May 2020 made him $10,000 richer.

As of 2015, Snowden was popular amongst young people. In America, 56% of millennials had “favourable” opinions on the ex-government worker, while this figure surpassed 80% in Europe. The American Civil Liberties Union insists: “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Snowden is a patriot and should be pardoned.”

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