Shallow Surveillance Efforts Like PRISM Will Only Catch The 'Stupidest, Lowest-Ranking Of Terrorists'
American Bankers' Association Claims Routing Numbers Are Copyrighted

White House Petition To Pardon Edward Snowden Zooms Past 100,000 Signatures

Politics

from the that-didn't-take-long-at-all dept

Tue, Jun 25th 2013 8:46am — Mike Masnick
A petition set up on the White House's "We the People" petition site asking the Obama administration to pardon Edward Snowden has already passed 100,000 signatures, and shows no signs of slowing down, with a few weeks still left to go. That means that, in theory, the White House is supposed to issue a response to the petition. Of course, that response could be "hell, no" but it seems more likely that it will be something about letting the DOJ investigation, indictment and charges go through their due course. Still, it is worth noting -- especially in comparison to other petitions -- just how quickly this one got to 100,000 signatures. There are an awful lot of Americans who think that Snowden did something brave and important in revealing how the NSA was spying on us all. Having politicians continue to refer to him as a "traitor" seems like a really short sighted position. A fairly large number of people clearly feel quite the opposite is true.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: ed snowden, edward snowden, pardon, we the people, white house petition

53 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

The First Word

“
still trying to think what he has done to be pardoned for. he made the people everywhere what governments, not just in the USA, were up to. if there has been any betrayal of trust, it is by all governments against all people. it is the government that needs to be put on trial and if a pardon is deserved, the people should then decide! as it is, he should be made a hero for alerting us to what non democratically acting governments have been up to!
—Anonymous Coward
 ”

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 6:58am

    It's been on since 06/09. If you think about it it should be above the 1M threshold already given the importance of this matter. However it's good to see it reached the point of being noticed by the White House.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 8:59am

      Re:

      I'd be interested to see if it's even received 1M views. As sad as it is to admit, I'd be willing to bet there aren't 1M people looking for things like this. Unless the media were to pick it up and make a fuss about it (and with how much the government is threatening to go after reporters I don't see that happening), it probably wont get that many views let alone signatures.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        jupiterkansas (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:36am

        Re: Re:

        Possibly because the whole White House petition thing is a joke.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:17am

          Re: Re: Re:

          Whatever happen to the petition demanding a bland PR laden responses that completely ignores the context of the original question in favor of promoting a pro-government agenda?

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Ninja (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:58am

          Re: Re: Re:

          I haven't thought about it but it may be a reason why it doesn't receive much attention.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2013 @ 8:11pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          I won't sign any of The White House We The People petitions, Obama has shown how vindictive he can be. And there is has a website gathering the email addresses of people who disagree with him. So far what the people have said they want and don't want via those petitions have been completely ignored by him anyway. The whole thing is a farce.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:12am

      Re:

      People don't sign because:

      1. You need an account, and people don't want to sign up.

      2. People are concerned about being labeled as subversive if they sign it.

      3. People know that the petition thing is bullshit, so they don't bother

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:14am

        Re: Re:

        4. The whitehouse has showed that the petitions mean fuck all and if they even bother to respond they are likely to be condescending and dismissive.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:20am

          Re: Re: Re:

          So maybe a new web based movement needs to be started then. That got their attention before. Maybe they need a reminder.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 11:08am

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            I'd vote for a web based party in the next elections.

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 1:09pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              I was talking about a SOPA style protest organized to get their attention on this issue.

              [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 12:52pm

        Re: Re:

        Those are the exact three reasons that I don't bother it.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Zakida Paul (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 8:49am

    Pity it will be completely ignored

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      hjweth (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:28am

      Re:

      Of course it will be ignored. Everybody knows that when the government really wants to know what you're thinking about something, they just read your gmail account.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    out_of_the_blue, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:02am

    Masnicking: daily spurts of short and trivial traffic-generating items.

    Actually, that Snowden got a lot of attention is suspicious in itself. It's just a limited hangout, plus as Naomi Wolf said, what's the point of having NSA if people don't know enough to fear it?

    Meanwhile, the IRS story has been dropped by "mainstream media", as has the Benghazi caper, and the new "immigration" bill is on verge of passing with near complete anmesty besides "leglizing" a new flood. And Wall Street capers go on without a single person tossed into jail, the "too big to fail" banks continue with risky derivatives that could collapse the world economy. And they're gearing up for full scale invasion of Syria to help out the cannibalistic "rebels".

    But ignoring all of importance, Monetizing Mike just re-writes a paragraph about a silly "petition".

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:14am

      Re: Masnicking: daily spurts of short and trivial traffic-generating items.

      This is the perfect time to sneak small clauses into big bills now that we are all distracted on other things I suppose.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      beech, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:21am

      Re: Masnicking: daily spurts of short and trivial traffic-generating items.

      Oh, ootb, so predictable. Every article put on the site has a comment from you talking about something totally unrelated. Article about copyright abuse: 'omfg! (Ad hom), this is just one incident!'
      Article about mass copyright abuse: omfg! (More ad hom) this isn't important! Why you no talk about (something unrelated to tech or dirt.)!
      Article about something of national import: 'what about all the other important topics, (ad homs)!'
      Article about one of those other more important things: "rawr, Google is worse! Why you love Google so much?!"

      How about we keep comments on the topic of the article for once.Then we ccan go comment about the other stuff on those Articles...

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:11am

        Re: Re: Masnicking: daily spurts of short and trivial traffic-generating items.

        See, that's the best part. out_of_the_ass admits on multiple posts in the past that when he can't come up with something to criticise about the article he makes something up, insults Masnick and puts down some fucked-up tagline.

        Which means that Masnick is right on the money, and all out_of_the_ass can do is gnash his teeth.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Ninja (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:59am

        Re: Re: Masnicking: daily spurts of short and trivial traffic-generating items.

        Honestly, at this point it's not even worth replying anymore. We should let ootb rot behind the gray (former pinkish) links.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 12:45pm

      Re: Masnicking: daily spurts of short and trivial traffic-generating items.

      so what do you propose when no new developments in these capers appear? make shit up?

      oh right. you would

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Glenn D. Jones (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:06am

    The response with be the same as Manning's

    (Please note: This is not the actual response, just my prediction.)

    Thank you for signing the petition [Pardon Edward Snowden.] We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on WhiteHouse.gov.

    The We the People Terms of Participation explain that "the White House may decline to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or similar matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies, federal courts, or state and local government." The [Justice Department/NSA/CIA] is charged with enforcing the [Espionage Act/etc.] Accordingly, the White House declines to comment on the specific case raised in this petition.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      PRMan, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:44am

      Re: The response with be the same as Manning's

      Dang. Don't do their job FOR them. Make them at least think of that themselves.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Simple Mind (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 12:40pm

      Re: The response with be the same as Manning's

      The White House response to this petition is a national secret. We have answered this petition as required. However, you do not have sufficient clearance to see the response. Good day.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        JackOfShadows (profile), 28 Jun 2013 @ 4:18pm

        Re: Re: The response with be the same as Manning's

        Oh, I've got the clearance. There's no doubt about that. When the NSA's shit broke on them, I was one of two people that was allowed to go hands on to fix it if they couldn't. And I wasn't even trained on their stuff. [Frankly, rather idiotic stuff, in my not so humble opinion.] Ditto the Tomahawk cruise missiles, communication systems, disposing of crypto keys, etc. Hell, I was even called in as an analyst on several occasions.

        Now "Need To Know" depends on your view-point with respect to the rights of a citizen. The standing rule at my commands was if I asked I had an automatic need to know. Shit, I wouldn't ask, otherwise. That crap was a distraction from my "special projects." Unfortunately, now, the right to petition for redress of grievances and the informed consent of the governed got lost somewhere in the gutting of the Constitution.

        So, I have a few questions for my government. Anybody willing to step up and explain to me why you are doing what you are doing, realistically (not come media-grade BS). I've got a "real good" BS-detector here and it's edging towards 8.5 on a logarithmic scale. You really don't want to see a Yellowstone Caldera "event" happen.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:12am

    First they complain about the water supply. Now they complain about the governments overreaction to nothing. and soon they will be poisoning our water supply with dihydrogen monoxide. All these terrorist petitioners!!!!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:16am

    i think 'the people' need to take note of those politicians that think Snowden deserves to be treated like a traitor. when it comes to election time, those politicians need to know exactly how the people feel about them! any politician that is so wrappe3d up with licking the governments arse doesn't deserve to be in government. their priority will always be what is best for the government, not what is best for the people, you know, the ones politicians are supposed to represent, the ones that elect them!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:25am

    still trying to think what he has done to be pardoned for. he made the people everywhere what governments, not just in the USA, were up to. if there has been any betrayal of trust, it is by all governments against all people. it is the government that needs to be put on trial and if a pardon is deserved, the people should then decide! as it is, he should be made a hero for alerting us to what non democratically acting governments have been up to!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 11:10am

      Re:

      They have to convict him of a crime, it's how they ensure he can never become president.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Dreddsnik, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:28am

    I'm of the same mind as AC 10.
    To 'pardon' him would mean accepting the assertion that he committed a crime, which I don't believe he did. This type of action shouldn't NEED to be pardoned.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      jackn, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:35am

      Re:

      Then maybe someone should petition the White House to award him with a Civilian award (for bravery or watching our backs).

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:38am

    Pardon is not the answer...

    The call in this petition is a request for the WRONG thing. Pardons are for people who are convicted but have their sentences commuted due to mercy or extenuating circumstances. That is not what needs to happen. The petition should be calling for the DOJ to DROP THE CHARGES ALTOGETHER as what he did was a lawfully protected act in defense of the Constitution and American people. He has done what those in government took a sworn oath to do and failed to do in a willful betrayal of the public they are supposed to represent.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:53am

      Re: Pardon is not the answer...

      The point of a pardon is double jeopardy protection. So they can't "Okay drop the charges. Once he returns charge him again."

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:07am

        Re: Re: Pardon is not the answer...

        I understand that from the legal perspective, but that would be a political nightmare for them to do. Drop the charges and publicly apologize for their mistake only to turn around and charge him again? That would make them look even worse. Still if they are capable of that they did pardon him anyway, what's to keep them from trumping something up that appears to have nothing to do with this, only to charge him with something that they can use to get him?

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:02am

      Re: Pardon is not the answer...

      I don't believe a conviction is required to be pardoned. Unless I am much mistaken, Nixon was never convicted of anything, yet Ford pardoned him to block any prosecution at all.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:07am

        Re: Re: Pardon is not the answer...

        This is correct.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:11am

        Re: Re: Pardon is not the answer...

        While you are correct, that isn't the true purpose of a pardon although it certainly can be used that way. How about this then, have the DOJ drop the charges AND PARDON him for all possibly related charges just to make sure someone doesn't pick up the ball again and try to run with it. THAT would be acceptable.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:39am

    100k ABOUT SNOWDEN

    Not about the message !!!! no petition to investigate the substance of the leaks, no none of that !!!

    100,000 out of 300 million, what percentage of the population is that anyway ??? we'll it's about 1% of 10 million, 0.1% of 100 million so 0.03% of 300 million ?? correct me if I am wrong please.

    Hmmm, does not seem all that significant to me !!!!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Rich, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:42am

      Re: 100k ABOUT SNOWDEN

      You need a few more question marks and exclamation points.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joanna, 25 Jun 2013 @ 9:53am

    Did you notice the quote at the Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov front page?

    “My administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and efffectiveness in government.”

    — President Barack Obama
    The irony.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:46am

      Re: Did you notice the quote at the Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov front page?

      At least he got the last sentence right even if it will be painful to implement. He just apparently didn't realize that it wouldn't be his administration that brought about the openness but rather a 30 year old guy with a better grasp of the concept and the Constitution than he does.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Grover (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 4:36pm

      Re: Did you notice the quote at the Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov front page?

      Oh, GOD, the irony! I'm too old now to give a damn about what anyone thinks of what I believe; but, I have to say, I had a bad feeling about this guy when he was stumping for the presidency - something just felt wrong, almost malevolent in a way - a feeling I've never before felt emanating from any previous, presidential candidate. Anyway, personally, I haven't seen one thing this wank has done so far that was in the best interest of the American public - it's all been narrowly focused on how best to benefit big business and government and, ultimately, himself. I've never really been a joiner of causes; I've always preferred to stand afar and judge silently that everyone is F@#*ing idiot. However, of late, I've decided that I don't have a lot of time left on this mudball to remain aloof and separate from that which is going on around me, hidden from scrutiny - inasmuch as a cockroach scurries in the dark, hoping not to be seen going about its disgusting livelihood. We're in such a serious need of a political enema that it transcends any life-threatening bout of diarrhea.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:05am

    Be careful with petitions... to the government it's just like a list of dissenters.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joel Coehoorn, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:17am

    AKA

    The petition to pardon Snowden, aka, a list of people who are no longer eligible for a security clearance.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 10:43am

      Re: AKA

      Apparently security clearance may not be needed anymore as it soon all may be public knowledge.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2013 @ 11:21am

      Re: AKA

      Yeeeah, it's not like they were going to give any of us security clearance anyway.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    La la la la la I can't hear you...., 25 Jun 2013 @ 1:39pm

    The petitions to fire Carmen Ortiz and Stephen Heymann for their persecution of Aaron Swartz passed their response thresholds back in February... still no response from the White House...

    https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-attorney-carmen- ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck

    https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire- assistant-us-attorney-steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    chad hickey, 25 Jun 2013 @ 3:34pm

    pardon edward snowden

    I encourage the US government to follow appropriate laws in pursuing Edward Snowden.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anon Man, 26 Jun 2013 @ 12:12pm

    Not going to happen. 100,000 people who signed this petition will be locked up in FEMA camps and even killed by armed drones for aiding Snowden.

    It's the truth.

    As for me, I am staying neutral. So please leave me out of it.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Honesty, 2 Jul 2013 @ 4:57am

    Snowden is the greatest

    If the USA has nothing to hide why fear Snowden? Sick of the Americans spying on the rest of the world and causing unnecessary wars. Always killing brown people to steal natural resources. Always exploiting and destroying and destabilizing.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


Shallow Surveillance Efforts Like PRISM Will Only Catch The 'Stupidest, Lowest-Ranking Of Terrorists'
American Bankers' Association Claims Routing Numbers Are Copyrighted
Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

Friday

19:39 Important Announcement: Techdirt Is Migrating To A New Platform (0)
More arrow

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.