Will Donald Trump Pardon Edward Snowden? What We Know
February 12, 2025
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With the Trump administration securing the return of Marc Fogel from Russia, there has been speculation that Edward Snowden could be the next American to make the trip.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Snowden fled the U.S. in 2013 and ended up in Russia, where he was granted asylum and has resided since. In 2022, he received Russian citizenship from President Vladimir Putin. However, several members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s inner circle have shown sympathy for Snowden’s pardoning, most notably director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard.
A woman carrying a sign with the face of Edward Snowden during a demonstration in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 25, 2016. A woman carrying a sign with the face of Edward Snowden during a demonstration in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 25, 2016. Getty Images
What To Know
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that Fogel, who was arrested in Moscow and sentenced to 14 years in a Russian jail in 2022 after entering the country with cannabis, would be returning to the U.S.
His return has led some to speculate about a similar move for Snowden.
“President Trump is preparing to issue a FULL and UNCONDITIONAL pardon for Edward Snowden,” businessman Jim Ferguson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The U.S. Justice Department charged Snowden, a former National Security Agency subcontractor, with espionage in 2013 after he leaked thousands of top-secret records, exposing the agency’s global surveillance of private citizens’ information.
Snowden’s situation differs from Fogel’s in that he is not considered a criminal by Russian authorities and has no desire to return to the U.S. unless he is guaranteed a fair trial.
What People Are Saying
Republican Senator Lindsey Grahamsaid on Meet the Press on January 26, ahead of Tulsi Gabbard’s Senate confirmation hearing: “I tend to vote for almost everybody in both parties, but I want to see how the hearing goes. ‘Why did you go to Syria? What did you do regarding Assad? Why do you think Edward Snowden should be held as a hero?’ I certainly don’t.”
Edward Snowdentold reporters in 2019: “One of the big topics in Europe right now is should Germany and France invite me in to get asylum … And of course I would like to return to the United States. That is the ultimate goal. But if I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom-line demand that we all have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that’s the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense.”
What Happens Next
Snowden is likely to remain in Russia for the foreseeable future. The Trump administration has continued its recovery efforts for U.S. citizens detained there unfairly.
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