President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would pardon a "very important" person on Tuesday. However, he at the same time said that it would neither be his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn or whistleblower Edward Snowden. Trump's comments come just a couple of days after he said that he would look "very strongly" at pardoning Snowden, who is accused of espionage and theft of government property.
Trump has earlier wielded his presidential power to pardon a few government officials including his longtime friend and advisor Roger Stone. It now needs to be seen who will be the lucky one to get pardoned by the president this time.
Who'll be the Lucky One?
Trump told reporters on board the Air Force One that he would pardon someone who is "very, very important" on Tuesday but that definitely won't be Snowden or Flynn at least this time. "Doing a pardon tomorrow on someone who is very, very important," he said. Last month, Trump used his presidential power to commute the sentence of longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone.
Stone was convicted of lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election and since drew the ire of Trump. His conviction finally resulted in a long jail term but Trump now has once again made Stone's life easy by commuting his sentence. Under Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, a sitting president has the power to grant reprieves and pardons "for offenses against the United States."
Will Trump Pardon Snowden, Flynn?
Although Trump ruled out pardoning Snowden and Flynn on Monday, he said last week that he would look "very strongly" at pardoning Snowden, who has been living in asylum in Russia since he left the United States in 2013. Snowden is accused of espionage and theft of government property after he leaked troves of National Security Agency information.
Earlier in May, Trump had said that he was mulling a full pardon for Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during an investigation into the 2016 presidential campaign.
On the other hand, last week Snowden expressed his desire to return to the United States if he is promised a fair trial. If Snowden gets pardoned, it would make him the 26th person to be pardoned by Trump since taking office in January 2017. Trump had also pardoned former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik and commuted the prison sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in April.
