|
The officials
said they expect Snowden's supporters to use the Thursday
release of "Snowden" - directed by veteran filmmaker Oliver
Stone - to mount a public campaign demanding a pardon before
Obama leaves office in January.
Snowden, who lives in Moscow, is scheduled to appear via video
link on Wednesday at a New York press conference, where
advocates from human rights groups will call for a pardon.
They argue that Snowden performed a public service by exposing
excessive and intrusive electronic spying by the intelligence
agency and its English-speaking allies, including Britain's
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
In an interview published by The Guardian on Tuesday, Snowden
said the U.S. Congress, the courts and the president all
"changed their policies" as a result of his disclosures, and
that "there has never been any public evidence that any
individual came to harm as a result."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday that Snowden
is charged with "serious crimes, and it's the policy of the
administration that Mr. Snowden should return to the United
States and face those charges."
Two other U.S. officials said there are no discussions inside
the Justice Department about granting him a pardon.
Some officials have acknowledged that Snowden raised legitimate
questions about the extent and effectiveness of some electronic
eavesdropping, particularly the NSA's sweeping collection of
"metadata" on domestic telephone calls by Americans, a practice
that was curtailed after his revelations.
Other officials, however, say the material Snowden gave the
media included sensitive details about the locations and
operations of U.S. and allied global spying operations, some of
which were compromised.
(Reporting By Mark Hosenball; Editing by Tiffany Wu)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
