Obama’s decision to commute the sentence of Chelsea Manning over leaks speculated possibilities of mitigation in case of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden as well.
Edward stands virtually alone among leakers of documents.
However, President Obama states that there is a “stark difference” between Manning, who admitted to wrongdoing and has been in prison for the last six years, and Snowden, who fled the country to avoid prison.
The White House noted that Manning’s leaks were all at the “secret” level, where as Snowden’s leaks included documents of far higher classification and “far more dangerous” by the administration’s reckoning.
“Snowden has not filed paperwork that would qualify him for clemency, in spite of a major petition with around a million signatories calling for him to be pardoned,” said Josh Earnest – White House Press Secretary.