(July 7, 2015 at 12:29 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(July 7, 2015 at 12:03 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: The only way I would return to the U.S. if I were Snowden, is if he first received a Presidential Pardon for any and all crimes he may have previously committed. It would have to be worded in a way that it does not just list specific crimes they have talked about charging him with, but that he is pardoned for everything he may have done.
Pretty much this.
AFAIK, going against a presidential pardon is without precedent, and I doubt very seriously the Justice department would be willing to do so.
I can't see anything less giving Snowden the assurance that he'll stay out of prison - and even so, he should expect a lengthy debriefing in custody.
Going against a Presidential Pardon would be unconstitutional, as it is a specific power granted by the U.S. Constitution to the President.
And I agree, anything less and he is going to be looking at time in jail.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
