
Obama says he can’t pardon Snowden - ghosh
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/11/obama-says-he-cant-pardon-snowden/
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Tomte
It is obvious that "can't" doesn't mean "not legally allowed to" but "that's
my prerequisite for thinking about it".

Really, how could anyone get something else from his interview?

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grzm
You've likely viewed how people spin and cherry pick, particularly in this
election cycle. It's very unfortunate, but unfortunately unsurprising at this
point.

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halviti
All these articles about this, but I've never seen anyone mention whether or
not a pardon has been requested.. which is arguably the most important thing
in determining whether or not a pardon will be granted.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Pardon_Attorney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Pardon_Attorney)

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squozzer
>I think that Mr. Snowden raised some legitimate concerns. How he did it was
something that did not follow the procedures and practices of our intelligence
community.

Translated into English -- he didn't kill anyone.

>At the point at which Mr. Snowden wants to present himself before the legal
authorities and make his arguments or have his lawyers make his arguments...

Translated into English -- he didn't hop on a plane to Gitmo.

Note to self -- if ever in the position to leak information on a massive
secret government surveillance program, make sure the data has a couple of
juicy tidbits about the president, to hold in reserve.

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travmatt
Well... yea. Pardoning Snowden seems a great way to send the intelligence
community into an upheaval and spark mass resignation and protest, much less
the political ammo it would give Republicans.

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rabboRubble
Nixon?

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mcv
Nixon was pardoned before he was indicted. So legally, there's definitely
precedent for Obama's ability to pardon Snowden. He just doesn't want to.

From the article: > When Obama said he "can't" pardon Snowden he may have
meant he "won't" do it, unless circumstances change. Presidents have
historically issued pardons even when no court or prosecutor has taken action,
which was pointed out by Noa Yachot, who directs the Pardon Snowden campaign.

> "The president can pardon anyone," wrote Yachot. "Richard Nixon hadn’t even
> been indicted when Gerald Ford issued a 'full, free, and absolute pardon
> unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he,
> Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in' over
> the course of his presidency.

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payne92
"Obama says he WON'T pardon Snowden"

