Ron Paul pushes White House for clemency for Edward Snowden

Former Rep. Ron Paul has taken his push for clemency for Edward Snowden to a new level, announcing he’s collected more than 37,000 signatures in the past five months — about a third of what he says he needs to get a White House response.

Mr. Paul wrote on his blog of Mr. Snowden’s “sacrifices” to reveal “the disturbing scope of the National Security Agency[‘s] … mass surveillance and data collection efforts,” and said the U.S. government ought to award him clemency and let him return home.

The former NSA contractor’s temporary asylum expired a week ago. But Russia is likely to allow him to stay in the nation, the National Journal reported.

The White House frequently responds with a formal reply to petitions that include 100,000 signatures or more.