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Chelsea Manning stood trial. Edward Snowden did not.
by arbitrage 10y ago
Chelsea Manning stood trial. Edward Snowden did not.
- LordKano 10y agoStanding trial isn't a prerequisite for a pardon. Nixon never stood trial either.
- saalweachter 10y agoIt is not a prerequisite for a pardon, but it does serve the government's interests. Pre-emptively pardoning Snowden before he spends a day in prison sends the signal that the government isn't going to punish people for leaking, so go right ahead. Commuting Manning's sentence after seven years still leaves a pretty harsh warning for future leakers (is leaking that information worth seven years of your life?) while showing a degree of mercy to the individual (I mean, not the degree of mercy that commuting after 2 or 3 or 6 years would be...). Regardless of what you think Obama's secret inner beliefs and motivations are, I think it is reasonable to assume that as Commander in Chief and President of the United States he wants the people he entrusts with secrets to keep keeping them.
- noobermin 10y agoThis has been discussed before. A President can pardon people for crimes they may be charged with in the future.
- ceejayoz 10y agoYes, but politically, "we dropped her sentence to seven years in jail" is more tenable than "we pardoned someone who never stood trial nor served a day in jail".
- noobermin 10y agoValid point. The possibility is real, but the difficulty you highlighted may make it less likely. Not that there is no precedent of course (Nixon).
- randcraw 10y agoSo don't pardon Snowden. Commute the charges against him. Like 97% of the cases that go to prosecution in this country, let him plea to a lesser crime and serve a 10 year sentence, minus time served in Russia.
- ptaipale 10y agoEdit: Sorry, this was rubbish, I was thinking of Assange not Snowden. -- Note that charges (technically, a European Arrest Warrant in order to get him for questioning) against Snowden have not been made by the U.S. but by Sweden, for a suspected rape. So Obama definitely cannot commute them in any way. There is no extradition request to the U.S., so when fighting an extradition to U.S., Snowden is beating a straw man.
- DarqWebster 10y agoThat's Julian Assange, not Edward Snowden.
- ptaipale 10y agoSorry. Yes of course. Thanks.
- dragonwriter 10y ago> So don't pardon Snowden. Commute the charges against him. Commutation is reduction of sentence, it can only happen after conviction. > Like 97% of the cases that go to prosecution in this country, let him plea to a lesser crime Is there any indication that Snowden has any interest in pleading guilty to anything?
- ChrisBland 10y agoThe good ole Nixon pardon