Bill Barr Didn’t Block Snowden Pardon
The Claim
Former Attorney General Bill Barr blocked former President Donald Trump’s pardon of whistleblower Edward Snowden.
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The claim took off after Trump finished up his presidential pardons in the last few days of his presidency.
Misbar’s Analysis
For many years, Attorney General Bill Barr was one of Trump’s staunchest supporters. However, he recently refused to overturn the elction and even resigned from his role as attorney general.
Axios published a story on Barr's and Trump’s relationship, specifically moments wherein Barr ostensibly acted against the president. In the story, Axios claims that the only presidential pardon Barr blocked was that of Edward Snowden.
This was picked up by some right-wing news outlets, such as the National File. It was even retweeted by Edward Snowden’s Twitter account.
It’s impossible for us to determine the details of the Barr/Trump relationship. What we can determine is that Barr can’t block presidential pardons.
Presidential pardons are ironclad. Congress can’t overturn them, nor can the judicial branch of which attorney generals belong to. If Trump wanted to pardon Snowden, he would have. Of course, it’s possible for Barr to have convinced Trump not to, but that’s hardly obstructing the president’s orders.
Presidential pardons do still have some limits. As the president is the head of the federal government, he can’t pardon crimes pertaining to state laws. Snowden, however, committed a federal crime.
