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A comment on U.S. court: Mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal. Parent comment

Re:U.S. court: Mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden ... by 627467 on Thursday September 03, 2020 @08:57AM (#24363551)
Non-us citizen nor lawyer, but doesn't a pardon require a conviction? Has Snowden been convicted?

Does _anything_ obligates the President to pardon anyone?

And why would those points you listed invalidate a pardon? If Snowden was considered (by courts, government) to be a whistle blower by legal definition, he wouldn't need a pardon, right?

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Re:U.S. court: Mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden ... by yokaze on Thursday September 03, 2020 @09:09AM (#24363661)
> Non-us citizen nor lawyer, but doesn't a pardon require a conviction?

No, Nixon wasn't convicted either. He received a pardon nonetheless. Accepting a pardon implies though an admission of guilt.

> Does _anything_ obligates the President to pardon anyone?

AFAIK, not in the strict sense of the word. In the looser sense, public opinion.

> And why would those points you listed invalidate a pardon?

It would at most, because it influences public opinion. But technically, all those are reasons, why there is a pardon. The law may say he is guilty, but there might be overruling concerns at hand.

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