National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden speaks via video link during the Athens Democracy Forum, organised by the New York Times, at the National Library in Athens, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016.
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A U.S. Congress report Thursday on Edward Snowden, the “whistle blower” about U.S. intelligence aggression against private phone calls, has further dimmed his hope of returning home without being punished. And I won’t be doing so with mine’. “We’re not hearing very much about our rights”, he continued.
In a letter sent to President Obama on Thursday signed by every single member, the committee urged the president not to pardon the man “who perpetrated the largest and most damaging public disclosure of classified information in our nation’s history”, and said that if and when Snowden returns from Russian Federation, where he has been living since 2013, he should be held accountable.
The release of the report, two years in the making, also coincides with that of the film “Snowden”, directed by Oliver Stone.
“Edward Snowden’s case presents one for President Obama to use the presidential power of pardon proudly and unequivocally in recognition of one of the most important acts of whistleblowing in modern history”, American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said at the news conference Wednesday.
It looked at how Mr Snowden was able to remove more than 1.5 million classified documents from secure NSA networks, what the documents contained and the damage their removal caused to USA national security.
Fugitive Edward Snowden, in exile in Moscow after leaking National Security Agency documents, said he will vote in the U.S. presidential election, but did not say which candidate he prefers.
“He put our service members and the American people at risk after perceived slights by his superiors”, Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California, chairman of the committee, said in a statement.
He said: “After years of investigation, the committee still can’t point to any remotely credible evidence that Snowden’s disclosures caused harm”.
The former NSA intelligence contractor leaked thousands of classified United States documents in 2013 revealing the vast USA surveillance put in place after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Snowden and his supporters argue that although he stole information, the revelations have benefited the public because they led to improved privacy protection laws.
Asked about the prospect of a presidential pardon, Snowden said the legal process – most often used by US presidents as they leave office – was appropriate in his case.
Prominent advocacy groups Amnesty International and the ACLU are also poised to launch a campaign asking for Obama to grant Snowden a pardon.
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The 33-year-old spoke ahead of the opening of the movie ‘Snowden, ‘ starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
