> In the Snowden case Trump has at least two reasons to pardon him: a) pander to a certain crowd (tech), b) stick a finger in the IC's collective eye. I totall

> In the Snowden case Trump has at least two reasons to pardon him: a) pander to a certain crowd (tech), b) stick a finger in the IC's collective eye. I totally agree but this is a political explanation, not a philosophical nor a judicial explanation. It seems clear to me that what Snowden did was more serious than what Assange did, because Snowden was the primary source. > Trump pardons Assange just before the election without having floated it, and possibly at the same time as Snowden. This is the outcome that would most intrigue me. I have no idea how people would react, but personally I think pardoning Assange makes much more sense than pardoning Snowden. The difference is that Snowden is living in Russia and Assange is in UK custody.