US President Donald Trump will seriously consider pardoning former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden. He announced this on Saturday, August 15, at a press conference in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The American leader admitted that he was not very well aware of the situation with Snowden, but added that he would begin to study it, Interfax reports.
“Perhaps I will need to start working on this issue,” Trump said when asked if he wants to pardon Snowden and get him back to the United States.
Earlier this week, the American leader said he “might consider” the Snowden case. “I could definitely consider this issue. I will say that many people are on his side.
In turn, Republican Thomas Massey, a member of the US House of Representatives from Kentucky, called on Trump to pardon Snowden.
In June 2013, Snowden passed on classified materials to the Guardian and The Washington Post on programs of surveillance of people by British and American intelligence officers on the Internet. After that, he hid for some time and eventually fled to Russia.
In August of the same year, he received temporary asylum in the Russian Federation, a year later – a three-year residence permit. In 2017, the residence permit was extended until 2020. In the spring of this year, he applied for an extension of his residence permit for another three years.