There is new speculation that President Trump will pardon whistleblower Edward Snowden, and a new round of calls for him to do so, after recent comments in which Trump said a lot of people don’t think Snowden got treated fairly.
Snowden leaked NSA data in 2013, and was forced to flee the country. He is now living in Russia to avoid extradition. Trump’s comments are seen by some as reflecting a “softening” view of Snowden.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is leading to call to pardon Snowden. This has started new calls for a pardon after a petition to outgoing President Obama failed to lead to the pardon.
Trump had previously labeled Snowden a “traitor” and called for his death. It’s not clear why he personally is changing on this issue, but this might be the first real opportunity for Snowden to return to the US after years of vilification.
“It’s not clear why he personally is changing on this issue”
Trump is perceived as “changing” because he takes no principled stand on anything. Even if somehow he pardoned Snowden, it would still be risky for Snowden to return to the US, as truth tellers are a threat to the powers that be, and that threat will simply not be tolerated by those in charge.
I would not say that . Trump has taken a principled stand on the right to life . I consider Snowden , Assange , and even Manning as great patriots for informing the American people what they need to know . Trump should be changing his mind now and then . After all the same powers that be are enemies of all four of them ,
Trump’s stand on abortion is for votes.
I have nothing against a candidate changing a stance on an issue out of actual principle, such as Ron Paul changing his stance on federal use of the death penalty (he is now opposed to it). But you are absolutely correct that Trump suddenly learned that being pro-choice was “inconvenient” when courting the evangelical vote.
He might be generally pro-life. Many are. I hate the idea of killing a child, but forcing a rape victim to bear a child is terrible.
“but forcing a rape victim to bear a child is terrible”
I never understood that. How isn’t that “killing a child” also?
It is. I dislike brightline ethics. It’s too horrible to countenance a woman forced to bear a man’s child through no fault of her own. If she’s sleeping around as many do, then she should face the consequences.
I dont know how late is too late, but at some point a child is alive.
“If she’s sleeping around as many do, then she should face the consequences.”
Sure. And men should get castrated for their part.
Why? They have to pay child support.
And you think that is the same as a woman bearing a child? C’mon!!
Why does it have to be the same? Women get pregnant; both pay for child. Blame God.
I’m not a woman but the obvious physical change to their bodies and the complications that can happen during pregnancy and childbirth compared to paying child support is the reason that they AREN’T the same. Nearly 700 women died in the US last year giving birth. Not to mention the majority raise their children on their own while daddy just makes a monthly payment.
As with most politicians, certainly Biden.
Wow, I had to do a doubletake. Trump pardons Snowden and he’s got my vote. He would be vigorously condemned from both sides. Hopefully it isn’t because “in 2016 a petition was started, urging the then president, Barack Obama, to pardon Snowden” and the Don is just trying to be the anti-Obama. But what the hell, even if that were the case, I’d take it.
Gotta say Democrat insanity has me just about too that Trump lever. Bad as he is, they have been utter tyrants and seem to be promising even greater tyranny once in. Not sure if the country comes through as is under Trump, but 99.99% sure we’re cooked under President Kamala.
For the most part, every president is a little worse than the last president. And for the most part, every president is a little worse in his second term than in his first. President Biden would almost certainly just be President Trump’s second term.
I think W was better in his second term. It was hard to top his first.
He did unsuccessfully try to get a tiny bit of sanity back into the GOP’s immigration policy in his second term, but he also pulled the “surge” bullshit in Iraq. I’d say a little worse the second time around than the first time.
But the surge paled compared to the original invasion. Plus Afghanistan.
Obama was worse? I dont remember when he did what.
True. It’s less about the presidential choice being bad, more about the median level of tyrannical tendencies among top Democrats across the nation.
Biden different on some areas, but Trump changes so much. If Trump quit chickening out, they’d be very different.
Reform party gets a candidate in, and he turns half GOP…
Last time they picked the absolute worst candidate running. This time they outdid themselves. They picked the worst possible candidate to run for president and my choice for the second worst possible candidate for VP. Susan Rice would have been worse by an eyelash but she wasn’t a candidate for president as were Biden and Harris.
And then ASSANGE!!!
Most definitely
Accepting a pardon from a guy who pardoned Edward Gallagher would be a betrayal.
No. Scooter Libby pardon was worse. Gallagher wasnt so bad.
Pardoned for taking a photo is no big deal.
The photo was the sociopathic icing on the cake indicating how very much he enjoyed killing helpless people.
And he (and his brood) are now living among us, … and on us, …the darlings of our neocon war party, …an horror story that just won’t end. In a world like this the only honorable abode is Belmarsh.
Blame the court for not finding him guilty. Taking a picture is not so terrible. Torture and murder are, of course, terrible. Maybe there’s more to the case, just my thoughts.
I believe such things happen in war, great reason to oppose unnecessary war. As Trump said, I think, we make our military into killing machines and have to bear that burden. It would be better to have not begun the war.
Of course we blame the court and the war party (Scooter). Clearly our courts are corrupt, along with our military, our political caste, our oligarchs and their corporations, our news media, our universities and intellectuals, etc. We’ve reached that point. The verdict was absurd. The medic, after given immunity (apparently unconditional??), brazenly lied.
It won’t, of course, happen; but, it all desperately calls for honoring Manning, Assange, Snowden, et. al., by convening a Truth Commission charged with denazification, and criminal referral at the Hague. Defaulting that we are inexorably bound for a special kind of well earned hell.
He killed a naked unarmed man reaching for a rock. He’s scum.
He wasnt pardoned for that, wasnt found guilty.
I wasn’t saying that was the reason behind the pardon. It’s the reason(one of them)it makes him scum. And of course he was found not guilty, the naked man surely needed to be killed because he was reaching for a rock. The bad ass SEAL couldn’t possibly have subdued him without killing him.
If I’ve learned one thing this year it’s that no matter how solid a case seems, there are often details that change things. George Floyd might have OD. Anything might have happened in the soldier’s case. If the courts dont work, then the US has problems. We here dont learn enough to judge anything. Without courts to present and evaluate evidence, your judgement is generally going to be at the level of a lynch mob’s.
Judging by our actions and our continuous denial of EVER doing anything wrong, I would hazard to guess that the Navy SEAL acted like the savage that he was trained to be. He wasn’t found innocent because of him being a victim of his training, he was found innocent because his actions were justified by the very people that train him to be a savage. Him killing a naked unarmed man wasn’t denied, it was justified because the prisoner was reaching for a god damn rock. Think about that and tell me that was necessary under any condition.
Ummm… how do you propose keeping two of the most hated white hats in the world alive outside their present protections?
Pardons help, but for Snowden to return to the U.S. or Assange to walk free of official prison protections would be terrible risks.
General Flynn is a black hat, or at least a very grey one, and not clear of the woods yet.
Other breaking news: Dems now want an end to the forever wars. Biden also talking like a protectionist. Biden is running like Trump. Will Trump outTrump Biden and end the wars before election?
Next up, Julian Assange for his outing of Hillary to enrage the liberal elite media.
Might as well make Chelsea legit also.
Definitely, though Trump thought Chelsea should be more respectful to Obama after first pardon.
From 2013: “I think Snowden is a terrible threat, I think he’s a terrible traitor, and you know what we used to do in the good old days when we were a strong country? You know what we used to do to traitors, right?”
“Spies in the old days used to be executed. … There is still a thing called execution”
From 2020: “Trump said he is “not that aware of the Snowden situation,” but that people on both the left and the right are divided over the former contractor.
He wasn’t aware of a situation in which he suggested we should execute the man? Even when he talks about doing something good, he still finds a reason to lie. Either that or he’s actually more senile then Biden.
Likely just using it as a wedge issue to get Biden to have to answer to it and who will likely oppose it, driving a further wedge between him and the progressives who can’t stand him already.
He needs to pardon! I want to be energized. Buchanan brigade to the voting booths!
Trump’s looking at his legacy now, as his Presidency enters lame duck mode.
Plus, Assange and Snowden fostered the intense political awarness that helped Trump get elected; paying them back with a pardon is the least he could do.
Also, sticking it to his enemies is probably also a motivation. Assange and Snowden are still sharp sticks.
Hell yes! God emperor Trump needs to pardon them! Anything less is mortal and passive.
If Trump really were god-emperor material he would have pardoned people Snowden, Assange, Manning from day one, and let them run interference against the Deep State.
Instead he tried to placate and win over his opponents, which reaped only scandal and Trump-hate.
A flood of honest whistleblowers whistling even at his own occasional expense would have useful in forwarding MAGA and covering his rear.
Political leaders often fail over-weighing personal loyalty over actual competence and loyalty to a shared cause.
While a good thing, if, it happens, the main issue, is government transparency which continues to get worse under trump. Have a bone good dogs.