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The wild conjecture is out there that as one of the final acts of his presidency, Obama will pardon Snowden. Mostly to get this messy matter off the table of t

The wild conjecture is out there that as one of the final acts of his presidency, Obama will pardon Snowden. Mostly to get this messy matter off the table of the next president. I really don't know where to place the likelihood of this actually happening.

UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
By the way, I just looked at this a little, it appears like it would be POSSIBLE. Meaning you can pardon someone, like Snowden, before they've even been charged: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2008/07/preemptive_presidential_pardons.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/20... But that being said, I don't think Obama of all people would. He has been more pro surveillance than Bush Jr, was more damaged by Snowden, and had tons of political friends damaged by Snowden. I think people confused the person they wanted Obama to be, and the president Obama has actually been. He is more similar to Bush Jr in these matters than different, and has prosecuted more whistleblowers.
- rhizome 10y ago
  Nixon was pardoned without being charged. I think people confused the person they wanted Obama to be, and the president Obama has actually been. Not confused, disappointed.
burkaman 10y ago
How would that take the matter off the table? If Snowden could come back, he could travel around the country doing talks, do interviews, organize protests, etc. If you want people to forget about him, you leave him in Russia and don't put too much effort into bringing him back for a trial.
- theophrastus 10y ago
  Shall we add more hypotheticals to a hypothetical ;)? Pardons may include stipulations. Suppose this one exacted an agreement that no further germane information ("currently in possession of the putative pardonee") will be made public subject to rescinding said pardon? Presidential pardons are typically treated as sacred by the Justice department no matter their form.
  - burkaman 10y ago
    Snowden is already so far down this road, I don't think he would accept anything that forced him to keep quiet. It's pretty clear that he doesn't value his own freedom over his beliefs. And even if he agreed to not release any new information, that's not really what I meant. If he came back and did an interview on every talk show about what he thinks about the surveillance state, the current administration, whatever, that would make it a huge issue again. If you want it to go away, you need to keep him out of the country and out of the public eye.

UnoriginalGuy 10y ago

By the way, I just looked at this a little, it appears like it would be POSSIBLE. Meaning you can pardon someone, like Snowden, before they've even been charged: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2008/07/preemptive_presidential_pardons.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/20... But that being said, I don't think Obama of all people would. He has been more pro surveillance than Bush Jr, was more damaged by Snowden, and had tons of political friends damaged by Snowden. I think people confused the person they wanted Obama to be, and the president Obama has actually been. He is more similar to Bush Jr in these matters than different, and has prosecuted more whistleblowers.

rhizome 10y ago
Nixon was pardoned without being charged. I think people confused the person they wanted Obama to be, and the president Obama has actually been. Not confused, disappointed.

burkaman 10y ago

How would that take the matter off the table? If Snowden could come back, he could travel around the country doing talks, do interviews, organize protests, etc. If you want people to forget about him, you leave him in Russia and don't put too much effort into bringing him back for a trial.

theophrastus 10y ago
Shall we add more hypotheticals to a hypothetical ;)? Pardons may include stipulations. Suppose this one exacted an agreement that no further germane information ("currently in possession of the putative pardonee") will be made public subject to rescinding said pardon? Presidential pardons are typically treated as sacred by the Justice department no matter their form.
- burkaman 10y ago
  Snowden is already so far down this road, I don't think he would accept anything that forced him to keep quiet. It's pretty clear that he doesn't value his own freedom over his beliefs. And even if he agreed to not release any new information, that's not really what I meant. If he came back and did an interview on every talk show about what he thinks about the surveillance state, the current administration, whatever, that would make it a huge issue again. If you want it to go away, you need to keep him out of the country and out of the public eye.