White House finally responds to petition calling for Snowden to be pardoned

GlobalPost

The White House finally got around to telling petition-signers on whitehouse.gov that Edward Snowden isn't getting pardoned.

On June 9, 2013, just four days after the Guardian began reporting on NSA surveillance, based on thousands of documents Snowden had obtained while working as an NSA contractor for Booze Allen Hamilton, a whitehouse.gov petition went live, declaring Snowden a hero and calling for him to be pardoned of any crimes committed while exposing the controversial programs.

More from GlobalPost: 17 disturbing things Snowden has taught us (so far)

"Edward Snowden is a national hero," the petition read, "and should be immediately issued a a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs."

When petitions on whitehouse.gov reach 100,000 signatures in under 30 days, the administration issues a response. "Pardon Edward Snowden" crossed the 100,000 threshold after about two weeks and stood at 167,954 when whitehouse.gov closed it on Tuesday.

Now, finally, the White House has an answer. 

Thanks for signing a petition about Edward Snowden. This is an issue that many Americans feel strongly about. Because his actions have had serious consequences for our national security, we took this matter to Lisa Monaco, the President's Advisor on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. Here's what she had to say:

"Since taking office, President Obama has worked with Congress to secure appropriate reforms that balance the protection of civil liberties with the ability of national security professionals to secure information vital to keep Americans safe.

As the President said in announcing recent intelligence reforms, "We have to make some important decisions about how to protect ourselves and sustain our leadership in the world, while upholding the civil liberties and privacy protections that our ideals and our Constitution require."

Instead of constructively addressing these issues, Mr. Snowden's dangerous decision to steal and disclose classified information had severe consequences for the security of our country and the people who work day in and day out to protect it.

If he felt his actions were consistent with civil disobedience, then he should do what those who have taken issue with their own government do: Challenge it, speak out, engage in a constructive act of protest, and — importantly — accept the consequences of his actions. He should come home to the United States, and be judged by a jury of his peers — not hide behind the cover of an authoritarian regime. Right now, he's running away from the consequences of his actions.

We live in a dangerous world. We continue to face grave security threats like terrorism, cyber-attacks, and nuclear proliferation that our intelligence community must have all the lawful tools it needs to address. The balance between our security and the civil liberties that our ideals and our Constitution require deserves robust debate and those who are willing to engage in it here at home."

Snowden is living in Russia on a three-year residency permit, but he's said he wants to come home to the United States.

“I don’t think there’s ever been any question that I’d like to go home,” Snowden said during an interview with NBC News in May 2014. “I mean, I’ve from Day One said that I’m doing this to serve my country. Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say.”

While the whitehouse.gov petition demands a full pardon, Snowden's lawyer said in March 2015 that his client would return if he were given a "guarantee of a legal and impartial trial." 

He'd also be "amenable" to a plea deal similar to the one agreed by General David Petraeus, the former head of United States Central Command and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, who was sentenced to pay a $100,000 fine and serve two years of probation after disclosing classified information to Paula Broadwell, his lover and the author of "All in: The Education of General David Petraeus."

For now, Snowden will keep waiting, but 167,954 petition-signers have their answer.

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