Poll: Elon Musk sparks controversy on pardoning Assange and Snowden

Tech mogul Elon Musk has reignited the contentious question of whether whistleblower Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange should receive pardons from the U.S. government.

Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, took to X with a thought-provoking tweet: “I am not expressing an opinion, but did promise to conduct this poll. Should Assange and Snowden be pardoned?”

Poll: Pardon for Assange and Snowden?

Assange and Snowden find themselves at the centre of this controversy due to their roles in exposing classified information related to the U.S. Army.

In 2010, Assange sent shockwaves through the global community by publishing a series of leaks connected to the U.S. Army, while Snowden, a former CIA employee and NSA contractor, disclosed confidential documents revealing the government’s surveillance programs.

In May 2019, the department formally charged Assange with illegally obtaining, receiving, and disclosing classified information. The charges, dubbed one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history, carry significant legal consequences.

Snowden, on the other hand, faced legal action for releasing his tell-all book, Permanent Record, in violation of the non-disclosure agreements he had signed with both the CIA and NSA. These actions led to a lawsuit filed against him by the U.S. government in September 2019.

Where are they now?

Both Assange and Snowden have evaded U.S. authorities, with Assange residing in the UK and Snowden seeking refuge in Russia. Notably, in September of the current year, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Snowden Russian citizenship, further complicating the legal landscape surrounding the whistleblower.

“It is not my choice to be in Russia. I’m constantly criticizing the Russian government’s policy, the Russian government’s human rights record – even the Russian president by name,” Snowden said as he responded to criticisms for living in Russia.

This is not the first time that the question of pardoning Snowden has surfaced. In October 2020, then-U.S. President Donald Trump publicly mused about the possibility of a pardon, sparking a debate over whether Snowden should be treated as a hero or a traitor.

In one response to Musk’s poll, a user vehemently argued against pardoning Assange and Snowden, citing concerns about national security and allegations of selling classified information to China and Russia.

It remains to be seen whether public sentiment can influence the fate of these two polarizing figures at the heart of one of the most significant debates of our time — the balance between government secrecy and the public’s right to know.

The photo above is from a YouTube Screengrab