WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Edward Snowden were among the high-profile individuals not included on President Trump’s list of more than 100 individuals granted clemency released early Wednesday in his final hours in office.
Defenders of Assange and Snowden had advocated for Trump to issue pardons for the two for the charges they currently face in the United States.
Earlier this month, a judge in the United Kingdom ruled against a request to extradite Assange to the U.S., where he faces espionage charges after publishing classified American military and intelligence documents. The judge cited Assange's mental condition and said it would be "oppressive" to extradite him.
Assange is being held in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had been living, in 2019.
Among those who urged Trump to grant Assange clemency was Snowden.
“Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency during your time in office, please: free Julian Assange. You alone can save his life” Snowden wrote in a December tweet.