Ron Paul is renewing his call for the Obama administration to grant clemency to National Security Agency spy-secrets leaker Edward Snowden – and to let him return home.
In a
blog post last week, the former Texas Republican lawmaker said he'd collected over 37,000 signatures in a little over five months, and was aiming to exceed 100,000.
Paul said Snowden's revelations about the government's spying program continue "to open our minds to the truth and power of our government."
"We are being watched and recorded," he wrote. "And we don't have to do anything wrong; individuals can be falsely attacked to derive suspicion."
Paul said Snowden's "sacrifices" – "his livelihood, citizenship and freedom" – to unveil "the disturbing scope of the National Security Agency . . . mass surveillance and data collection efforts" deserve thanks.
Any White House petition that gathers more than 100,000 signatures is typically met with an official response, but the Obama administration had yet to deliver one regarding Snowden, Paul wrote.
Snowden's temporary asylum in Russia expired last week, but all indications are that Russia will allow the former NSA contractor to either renew his asylum or stay indefinitely, the
National Journal reports.
His Russian lawyer said he expected a decision on a renewal application soon, and said he expects Russia will allow Snowden to stay at least until a ruling is made,
Washington Business Journal reported.
Paul's son, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, has also slammed the NSA surveillance,
filing a class-action lawsuit in February against President Barack Obama and the NSA on grounds the spy agency's domestic phone-records surveillance is unconstitutional.
But Rand Paul
has opposed clemency for Snowden.
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