US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was considering pardoning Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the US National Security Agency - who now lives in Russia - whose startling leaks rocked the US intelligence community in 2013.
The Republican president’s comments came on the heels of an interview he gave to the New York Post this week, in which he said of Snowden that "a lot of people think he's not being treated fairly" by US law enforcement.
For years, the US authorities wanted Snowden to return to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges brought against him in 2013.
Snowden fled to Russia and sought asylum after he leaked a batch of classified files in 2013 to news organizations that uncovered extensive domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the National Security Agency.
Trump's soft stance is a sharp reflection. Shortly after the leaks, Trump voiced his hostility to Snowden, calling him "a spy who should be executed."
ObamaCare is a disaster and Snowden is a spy who should be executed-but if it and he could reveal Obama's records, I might become a major fan
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2013
The president told reporters that he was considering granting a pardon for Snowden, speaking at a news conference at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, "I will start looking into the matter."
Trump believes politicians on the left and the right are divided over Snowden, telling reporters, "It seems like a split decision. A lot of people think it should be treated differently. Others think he did very bad things."
Some civil liberties advocates have praised Snowden for revealing the exceptional scope of US digital espionage operations, including domestic spyware that senior officials have publicly insisted not exist.
But such a step would raise terror among many in the US intelligence community, whose important secrets have been revealed.
Trump has harshly criticized former leaders of the US intelligence community and the FBI, and on Thursday he targeted the incumbent bureau chief, Christopher Wray, whom he appointed.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last September against Snowden, arguing that his recently published notes were a "permanent record" in violation of nondisclosure agreements.
The Justice Department said Snowden published the book without submitting it to intelligence agencies for review, adding that his speeches also violated nondisclosure agreements.
Allies and related political figures often took advantage of Trump's use of executive powers, including amnesties.
Last month, the president commuted to his friend and longtime advisor Roger Stone and removed him from prison after he was found guilty of lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election to bolster Trump's nomination.