Why is Edward Snowden not allowed back in US?
Executive summary
Edward Snowden remains effectively barred from returning to the United States because he is charged under the Espionage Act and related statutes and a federal court has entered a final judgment and permanent injunction against him that seeks to strip him of proceeds from his book and speeches—actions that together create strong legal and practical barriers to safe reentry [1] [2]. Congressional and public debate about pardons or dropping charges continues, but as of available reporting the Justice Department judgment and unvacated criminal charges remain the decisive legal facts [1] [3].
1. The legal hook: criminal charges and a civil judgment
Snowden faces criminal charges unsealed in June 2013 under sections of the Espionage Act (and related theft of government property charges), which carry decades in prison; those charges remain a primary legal reason he cannot safely return without risking arrest and prosecution [3] [2]. Separate from the criminal case, the federal government recently obtained a final judgment and permanent injunction ordering Snowden to relinquish more than $5.2 million in proceeds from his memoir and certain speeches, and placing a constructive trust over further royalties—an indication the Justice Department treats his disclosures as breaches of legal obligations and is actively enforcing financial remedies that would complicate any negotiated return [1].
2. Exile, asylum and citizenship: the practical barriers
Snowden fled the United States in 2013 and has lived in Russia since; reporting notes he received Russian citizenship and remains in Moscow, a fact that complicates any diplomatic route home and raises security and political issues around a possible transfer or pardon [4] [5]. His physical absence and the fact of asylum abroad mean that even if legal options existed, they would require either his voluntary return to face prosecution or a rare political intervention by the U.S. executive branch—neither of which has occurred in the available reporting [4] [1].
3. Politics and pardons: competing pressures in Washington
There is active political debate in Congress and speculation about presidential clemency. The House has a 2025 resolution expressing that the federal government should drop all charges against Snowden, signaling legislative sympathy in some quarters [3]. At the same time, media coverage in 2025 discussed talk of pardons and political maneuvers, showing that Snowden’s fate is as much a political question as a legal one; available sources show discussion but no executed pardon or settled policy as of the most recent reporting [6] [3].
4. Public interest, whistleblower defense and counterarguments
Advocates and rights groups frame Snowden as a whistleblower whose revelations prompted reforms: court rulings, changes to surveillance practices and stronger encryption by technology companies—arguments that underpin calls to drop charges and allow his return [7] [8]. Critics and the Justice Department argue his disclosures unlawfully exposed intelligence methods and harmed national security; the civil judgment’s language stresses that intelligence information should protect the nation and not provide personal profit, reflecting the government’s perspective that legal sanctions are appropriate [1].
5. Legal realities versus symbolic gestures
Even if political leaders or Congress express support for dropping charges, the existence of an unvacated criminal indictment and the February 2025 final judgment create concrete legal obstacles: arrest on arrival and financial enforcement actions are enforceable realities. A presidential pardon or prosecutorial declination could negate criminal exposure, but available sources show no executed pardon as of reporting and the Justice Department pursued and won significant monetary relief in court, underscoring that legal consequences remain in force [1] [6] [3].
6. What reporting does not address directly
Available sources outline charges, the civil judgment and political debate but do not provide a detailed, authoritative account of any classified harm assessments the government used to justify prosecution, nor do they present a definitive, contemporaneous roadmap for how a negotiated return would be implemented under current law—those specifics are not found in the current reporting [1] [2].
7. Bottom line for readers
The primary, documented reasons Snowden is not allowed back in the U.S. are unresolved criminal charges under the Espionage Act and an enforceable federal judgment seeking to strip his earnings—facts showing both legal liability and active enforcement by the U.S. government [3] [1]. Political remedies exist in theory and are being debated publicly, but as of the cited reporting no legal barrier has been removed and no pardon has been issued [3] [6].