Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who once worked with the U.S National Security Agency (NSA), might see America again -- granting he gets pardoned for his alleged crimes by President Donald Trump, who's actually considering doing so.
Snowden created a major furor when he spilled the beans, so to speak, in 2013 that the U.S. government was eavesdropping on its people. He is currently living in exile in Russia since his revelations.
Snowden has said that he would like to return to the U.S., but only on the condition that he is given a fair trial. "I am going to seriously take a look at that," Trump said during a media briefing at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Snowden revealed very sensitive information from the NSA in 2013. He flew to Hong Kong, before proceeding to Russia to avoid extradition back to the U.S. For years, U.S. authorities have wanted Snowden returned to the United States to face charges of espionage.
Snowden's disclosures of the magnitude of U.S. intelligence-gathering created a major international scandal that sparked a fiery debate over the country's eavesdropping. To many human rights proponents, Snowden was a modern-day hero, but to others, he was simply a renegade.
Trump's comment on possibly giving Snowden the pardon is a shift from his 2016 presidential campaign when he thought during the time that Snowden was "a total traitor." Convictions of espionage charges carry a prison term of more than 10 years in the U.S.
Trump commuted the sentences of other controversial personalities. He reduced the sentence of long-time ally Roger Stone and pardoned former Arizona legislator Joe Arpaio after he was found guilty of criminal contempt.
Former President Barack Obama was urged in 2016 to pardon Snowden, after a petition was launched that generated a million signatures the following year. That appeal for pardon failed.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in September last year against Snowden, arguing that "Permanent Record," his recently-published book, infringed on non-disclosure agreements. Justice officials said he published the memoir without allowing intelligence agencies to examine it, which violates the NDA.
Meanwhile, many people think that Snowden is not being treated fairly. According to sources, Trump surveyed members of his staff on whether Snowden should be allowed to return to the U.S. without sending him to jail. "Many people are on his side, " Trump said, adding he doesn't know the man nor met him personally, "but many people are on his side."
