Edward Snowden Argument

An Argument for Clemency for Edward Snowden Edward Snowden was a hot topic in the news in 2013 after he released classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the media. This leak contained information about global surveillance performed by the United States, which involved monitoring email, tracking cell phones, and logging phone calls. Not only did this action force him into asylum overseas to avoid arrest, but it ultimately caused an uproar in the media and amongst the American public. The controversy surrounding Snowden involves the rights of the public vs. the surveillance programs performed by the U.S. While many condemn Snowden for betraying the national security of his country, many applaud him for exposing the
Activist Daniel Ellsberg, who himself had leaked the classified Pentagon Papers during the Nixon administration, applauded Snowden for being “the one person in the…NSA who did what he absolutely should have done” (Hope X). Ellsberg echoes the sentiments shared by many Americans and defends the whistleblower’s right to protect his own country’s Constitution. While it is clear that Snowden’s exposure of the NSA constitutes whistleblowing, it takes his supporters and well-known whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg to bring the issue light in the White House: the fact that the controversy is so ardent within the country—and the fact that the issues surrounding Snowden are not so cut-and-dry—mirrors many cases of questionable pardons in the U.S. in the past (Turley). According to Jonathan Tuley, Snowden’s situation is similar to Ellsberg’s and many other pardons in U.S. history, and furthermore, his pardon would pacify the “national divide” that has occurred as a result of the controversy. This argument is poignant, considering the level of controversy and the volume of unfavorable evidence against the NSA provided by