US President Donald Trump visits the gut field before giving remarks at Basler Flight Service in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, US, August 17, 2020. REUTERS / Tom Brenner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would forgive a “very, very important” person on Tuesday, but added that it would not be like Edward Snowden or former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
“Tomorrow make a pardon for someone who is very, very important,” Trump told reporters about Air Force One.
He declined to give further details, except to say that it was not Flynn nor Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor who now lives in Russia and is accused of leaking secret information.
On Saturday, Trump said he was considering a pardon for Snowden, who in 2013 gave a trove of secret files to news organizations that publicly exposed domestic and international surveillance actions carried out by the NSA.
Flynn has twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his talks with Russia’s then-ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. The U.S. Department of Justice has sought to drop the case against Flynn following pressure from Trump and his allies.
Last month, Trump used his presidential power to commute the sentence of longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, who was convicted of swearing in by lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Report by Alexandra Alper; Written by Eric Beech; Edited by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney
.
