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Will Trump pardon Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? Internet hopes president 'pardons Capitol rioters as well'

Trump had previously issued a number of pardons in the lead up to Christmas but reportedly put them on pause in the days before and after the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021

With days left before Donald Trump hands over his presidency to Joe Biden, netizens are urging the outgoing President to pardon Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. While Snowden was accused of treason for revealing classified information, Assange, the WikiLeaks founder had been charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, alleging that he aided former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a password stored on the US Department of Defense computers.

As Trump's days at the office draws to a close, netizens took to Twitter urging him to issue a pardon to the duo. According to two sources, the White House, on Sunday reportedly held a meeting to finalize the list of pardons. Trump had previously issued a number of pardons in the lead up to Christmas but reportedly put them on pause in the days before and after the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. "Oh please please please let him pardon Assange and Snowden!!" read one of the tweets which were seconded by many asking for the same.

"Here's hoping he pardons the capital rioters as well as Assange and Snowden," read another comment. "Honestly if @POTUS doesn't pardon @DefendAssange his Presidency would have been a huuuuge disappointment. And it would be summarized as follows: "He campaigned to drain the swamp, but got swallowed by the Swamp itself". #PardonSnowden #PardonAsssangeNOW," one of the netizens tweeted. "@POTUS Please pardon Assange and pardon Snowden this is the only way those with information now can be assured of saftey and speakout truth must not be hindered #whistleblower saftey," one of the comments read.

These developments come as Snowden tweeted about Alexei Navalny's arrest. The 44-year-old opposition leader was detained after his flight from Germany landed in Moscow on Sunday. Navalny was almost killed in a nerve agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin. For those unaware, Navalny is an anti-corruption campaigned and a renowned face in Russia as one of President Vladimir Putin's key opposition. He also tried to enter the 2018 Presidential race to topple Putin but was barred after an embezzlement conviction

Snowden's tweet read: @Navalny's arrest seems to be a repetition of mistakes made in the Soviet era, seen elsewhere now in the case against #Assange and the war on whistleblowers. States are developing an allergy to the opposition—but systems that cannot accept dissent will not survive it. Let him go." It was clear that Snowden was batting for Navalny's release.

This also saw people throw in their two cents. "@Snowden’s comment seems to me a repetition of mistakes made in assessing balanced equivalence and refinement. There are right and wrong ways to engage in whistleblowing and dissent. Undisciplined release of info doesn’t go in the right category. Get a better argument," a tweet opined. The appeals for their pardon continued to flow. "Please pardon Assange and Edward Snowden! VERY on-brand! Let the GOP become the "anti-never-ending-war brand."

According to a report by The Guardian, Trump has already given pardons to 94 people. It is still unclear who he plans to pardon, but for now, multiple reports say Trump will not include himself or his family, for the fear of looking guilty of any sort of criminal behavior.