Politics Trump says he will look 'very strongly' at granting pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Saturday he's considering granting a pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden.

© Evan Vucci, AP President Donald Trump

“I’m going to take a look at that very strongly,” Trump said during a news conference at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, has been living in exile in Moscow since fleeing the U.S. six years ago after leaking information on the nation's most secretive spy agencies and their programs. His revelations triggered a debate over government eavesdropping, with some hailing him as a hero and others calling him a traitor.

Trump to 'take a look' at pardoning Snowden

President Donald Trump said Saturday he will "take a look" at pardoning Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor who revealed in 2013 that the US government was spying on its citizens. Snowden, who has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations, has said he would like to return to the United States -- but only on the condition that he receive a fair trial. Trump was asked during a press conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club if he was considering pardoning the former contractor.He replied that he was "not that aware" of Snowden's situation -- but that he plans to look into it, calling the controversy a "split decision.

Edward @ Snowden is a whistleblower who exposed unconstitutional surveillance practices that “I guess the DOJ is looking to extradite him right now? … It’s certainly something I could look at. Trump 's comments immediately raised eyebrows especially given he 's previously been on record as

Trump says ‘A lot of people think he is not being treated fairly’ as Republican congressman calls for president to pardon exiled NSA whistleblower .

© Getty Justice Department suing Edward Snowden over his new memoir 'Permanent Record'

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.

"It seems to be a split decision," he said. “Many people think he should be somehow treated differently, and other people think he did very bad things."

Trump raised the issue of a pardon in an interview this week with the New York Post.

“There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated fairly. I mean, I hear that,” Trump said.

The Post reported that Trump polled members of his staff about whether to let Snowden return to the U.S. from Russia without going to prison.

Whistleblower: Trump wants to examine Edward Snowden's pardon

© dpa In 2013, the whistleblower had given several journalists secret documents about the surveillance techniques of the US secret services. He will look at the case, said the US President at a press conference. Shortly before the end of his term in office, his predecessor Obama had pardoned a whistleblower. US President Donald Trump wants to examine a pardon for the whistleblower Edward Snowden, who seven years ago revealed the rampant surveillance system of American secret services .

President Trump earlier this week floated the notion of pardoning NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden , leading some to believe that it could lead to the pardoning of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. “There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated fairly.

BREAKING: Trump Says US Will Trigger UN Snapback Sanctions Mechanism Against Iran Next Week. The administration has the right to block a user’s access to the page or delete a user’s account without notice if the user is in violation of these rules or if behavior indicating said violation is

Trump also told the Post about Snowden: “Many people are on his side, I will say that. I don’t know him, never met him. But many people are on his side.”

In the interview, Trump justified talk of a pardon by again complaining about an FBI investigation into links between his campaign and Russians who sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. He said it was unfair that people like ex-FBI Director James Comey are free while Snowden is in legal limbo.

Snowden himself welcomed Trump's consideration, tweeting Friday:

"The last time we heard a White House considering a pardon was 2016, when the very same Attorney General who once charged me conceded that, on balance, my work in exposing the NSA's unconstitutional system of mass surveillance had been 'a public service.'"

Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Snowden in 2013, charging him with theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person."

Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

A saliva-based COVID-19 test is FDA approved. Recovery continues in Iowa from Monday's derecho storm. Here's the weekend's biggest news.In a statement, Democratic leaders said DeJoy and Chairman of the USPS Board of Governors Robert Duncan must explain "why they are pushing these dangerous new policies that threaten to silence the voices of millions, just months before the election." Among the shifts in service that worried Democrats was a move to stop treating all election mail as first-class – which could mean a regular delay of up to eight days from prior elections – cutbacks in overtime and a ban on "late" or "extra" delivery trips.

Edward Snowden says he searched CIA, NSA databases for proof of aliens. President Trump polled his aides on Thursday about whether he should let anti-surveillance whistleblower and leaker Edward Snowden return to the US from Russia without going to prison, saying he was open to it.

President Trump has been urged to pardon Edward Snowden after reportedly indicating yesterday that he was open to the idea. The suggestion not only raised the hopes of pro- Snowden campaigners who have long called for a reprieve, but gained support from Rep.

In late 2016, then-President Barack Obama said he wouldn't consider a pardon until Snowden stopped running from the law.