WASHINGTON
Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that a deal is possible between the Justice Department and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
“I certainly think there could be a basis for a resolution that everybody could ultimately be satisfied with. I think the possibility exists,” Holder said of a potential plea bargain during an interview with Yahoo News.
The deal could allow Snowden to return to the U.S. from self-imposed exile in Moscow, said Holder, who was the U.S.’s top law enforcement official from 2009 until April when Loretta Lynch assumed office.
The whistle-blower provided journalists with government documents that depicted secret mass-data collection programs that the U.S. ran at home and abroad. The outings sparked mass debate about government surveillance and privacy rights, and prompted President Barack Obama to call on lawmakers to revise the authorities that the programs run under after an internal review.
“We are in a different place as a result of the Snowden disclosures,” Holder said. “His actions spurred a necessary debate.”
Snowden has been charged with multiple crimes related to his 2013 disclosures, including three felony violations of the Espionage Act. If found guilty of the charges, Snowden could be jailed for decades.
Holder declined to outline the specifics of what a deal with Snowden might include, telling Yahoo News that it would not be “appropriate.”
It’s also unclear if Holder’s comments are indicative of a wider change in opinion within the administration, according to the online news outlet.
In an email to Yahoo news, Melanie Newman, chief spokeswoman for Lynch, dismissed the idea that the Justice Department was changing course on Snowden.
“This is an ongoing case so I am not going to get into specific details but I can say our position regarding bringing Edward Snowden back to the United States to face charges has not changed,” she said.
