10,000Plus People Want Obama to Pardon Edward Snowden

More than 10,000 people have signed a White House petition demanding President Barack Obama pardon NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

On Sunday, Snowden, 29, identified himself as the source behind the revelations on widespread NSA surveillance program posted on The Guardian and The Washington Post.

"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them," Snowden wrote in a note about his leaks published by The Guardian.

The petition calls Snowden a "national hero" who "should be immediately issued a a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed."