Executive Summary

Edward Snowden’s situation might be changing. US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated for key US government positions several individuals who favour a pardon for him. Nonetheless, after providing over a million classified documents to Russian intelligence, he is now protected from extradition as a former KGB officer and Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted him citizenship. This happened after almost 10 years in Russia. 

Polarization persists in the debate over his actions. Human rights and digital rights groups argue for his pardon, recognizing the positive impact of his disclosures. Intelligence and conservative communities condemn his actions and the damage they caused, noting that much of what he compromised was unrelated to his claims about private citizens’ communications privacy. 

Images Sourced From: Mike Herbst, Marc Barnes