Following the premiere of Oliver Stone' s biopic of Edward Snowden, activist groups as well as Snowden himself are pushing Obama to pardon the whistleblower. Internationally recognized organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International are among those supporting Snowden's absolution. Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Administration (NSA), fled the US in order to leak documents revealing secret US surveillance programs that collect an enormous amount of data on innocent Americans, a violation of the 4th amendment. Snowden, who originally fled to Hong Kong, was granted asylum in Russia in 2013, where he currently resides. Snowden has expressed his desire to return to the US if a deal can be reached that would grant him the right to a free trial. Snowden made his case for a Presidential pardon via video at a press conference Wednesday morning, calling upon Barack Obama to reverse his established practice of prosecuting whistleblowers. In his plea, Snowden called whistleblowing "democracy's safeguard of last resort" and said the continued prosecution of whistleblowers would ultimately damage democracy by creating a dangerous "legacy of secrecy. "

Snowden's revelations ultimately led to a court decision that declared the bulk collection of innocent American phone records illegal as well as the passage of the first congressional surveillance reform bill in decades. In addition, Snowden pressured technology companies and concerned citizens alike to begin encrypting their communications. Federal government ire at encrypted communication soon followed, climaxing with the government seizure of US-based encrypted email service Lavabit. Despite Snowden's efforts and his assertions that he leaked the information to serve the public interest, the US government claims that Snowden doesn't even qualify as a whistleblower. Obama's administration has continually rejected a pardon for Snowden. He stands accused of leaking classified information, which according to Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi, inflicted serious harm on national security. They also point to his flight from the US as evidence of his guilt, saying he avoided the official channels available to whistleblowers to avoid wrongdoing.

The only CIA officer who went to prison for its illegal torture program was John Kiriakou, the whistleblower who exposed it.

However, based on the Obama's administration handling of previous whistleblower cases, it's understandable why Snowden fled. US whistleblowers John Kiriakou, Jesselyn Radack, and Tom Drake all tried to address illegal government actions. The three sought to expose CIA torture, questionable interrogation techniques of the Justice Department, and the NSA's illegal surveillance programs, respectively. Instead of being rewarded, all three lost their jobs and were faced with legal action. Kiriakou went to prison for over two years for his efforts.