"He probably should make the case from jail, and that is where he should be," Burr said on hearing reports that Snowden was urging President Barack Obama to grant him a pardon before leaving office.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper released on Tuesday, Snowden argued that he should receive a pardon because his revelations of classified US intelligence programs were "vital" for the public understanding of their government.
Burr, who has supported the renewal of a number of the programs exposed by Snowden, argued that serving time in prison is a "precedent for those who steal state secrets and give them to our enemies."
If brought to the United States, Snowden likely faces up to 30 years in prison on charges of violating the Espionage Act. In his Tuesday interview, Snowden argued that "there has never been any public evidence" that an individual was harmed as a result of his disclosures.
Later this week, the House Intelligence Committee is planning to discuss a new, classified report on the impact of Snowden’s 2013 leaks on the intelligence community.
In 2013, Snowden revealed classified documents to reporters exposing the mass surveillance practices of the US government at home and abroad. Snowden has so far evaded US authorities and has been living in asylum in Russia.
