Zynga's Founder Asks Obama To Pardon Snowden

from the justiceville? dept

There was an earlier report in the Washington Post that one of the tech execs who met with President Obama on Tuesday had directly said that the President should issue a pardon for Ed Snowden -- something the President immediately said he could not do. There had been some speculation on which exec said that, but according to CNN, it was Mark Pincus, the founder of social gaming company Zynga:

A source familiar with the meeting told CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper that one of the executives, Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga, which makes on-line social games, suggested to the President that he pardon NSA leaker Edward Snowden, but Obama said he could not do that. The suggestion of the pardon was first reported by the Washington Post.

Hopefully other execs will follow on that lead and start speaking out. Given everything that's happened in the past six months, the idea that the US is still trying to arrest Snowden and charge him under the Espionage Act is a growing travesty that makes the administration look ridiculously petty. A true leader knows when to admit to making mistakes. The President has an opportunity that he's squandering.

Filed Under: barack obama, ed snowden, mark pincus, pardon
Companies: zynga