Campaign for Snowden pardon rebuffed
NEW YORK — U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on Wednesday thanked supporters who launched a campaign for his pardon and said for the sake of democracy, future whistleblowers must not be silenced.
Speaking by video link from Moscow, where he has been in exile since 2013, Snowden said that while the U.S. founding fathers created checks and balances to guard against government abuses, “whistleblowers, acting in the public interest, often at great risk to themselves, are another check on those abuses of power, especially through their collaboration with journalists.”
He said whistleblowing “is democracy’s safeguard of last resort, the one on which we rely when all other checks and balances have failed and the public has no idea what’s going on behind closed doors.”
The 33-year-old addressed a New York City news conference where advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International announced an online petition drive to urge President Barack Obama to pardon Snowden before he leaves office.
The supporters called Snowden a hero for exposing the extent of government surveillance by giving thousands of classified documents to journalists.
The Obama administration has consistently urged Snowden to return to the U.S. and face trial.
Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said Wednesday: “It is important to remember, Mr. Snowden is not a whistleblower. He is accused of leaking classified information and there is no question his actions have inflicted serious harms on our national security.”
The launch of the campaign comes two days before Oliver Stone’s biopic Snowden opens. Asked whether the film might help the case for his pardon, Snowden said he hopes that the movie puts issues of government overreach before a new audience.