Why Obama Should Pardon Edward Snowden

Why Obama Should Pardon Edward Snowden

Why Obama Should Pardon Edward Snowden

Seth Freed Wessler on the power of independent journalism, Amy Wilentz on Jared Kushner, and Ben Wizner on Edward Snowden.

Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener
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The power of independent journalism was demonstrated last week when the Justice Department announced the end of privately run prisons in the federal prison system. Seth Freed Wessler explains what it took to uncover dozens of questionable deaths in these corporate, for-profit facilities in his yearlong investigation for The Nation.

Also: Who is Jared Kushner, and why does Donald Trump listen to his advice? Amy Wilentz tells the story of Trump’s influential son-in-law: how his father, Charles Kushner, was sent to prison by then–US Attorney Chris Christie; how the 2007 crash nearly destroyed the family’s real-estate fortune; and how he’s advising the Republican candidate.

Plus: Amnesty for Edward Snowden. ACLU attorney Ben Wizner argues that President Obama should do the right thing in view of the NSA whistle-blower’s contributions to freedom and democracy.

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In the coming election, the fate of our democracy and fundamental civil rights are on the ballot. The conservative architects of Project 2025 are scheming to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision across all levels of government if he should win.

We’ve already seen events that fill us with both dread and cautious optimism—throughout it all, The Nation has been a bulwark against misinformation and an advocate for bold, principled perspectives. Our dedicated writers have sat down with Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders for interviews, unpacked the shallow right-wing populist appeals of J.D. Vance, and debated the pathway for a Democratic victory in November.

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Throughout 2024 and what is likely the defining election of our lifetimes, we need your support to continue publishing the insightful journalism you rely on.

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The Editors of The Nation

Start Making Sense Start Making Sense is The Nation’s podcast, hosted by Jon Wiener and coproduced by the Los Angeles Review of Books. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes each Thursday.  


Jon Wiener Jon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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