Tulsi Gabbard, US President Donald Trump's nominee for the role of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), stated on Thursday that she would neither endorse nor suggest a pardon for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Previously, Gabbard had backed the idea of pardoning Snowden and had even introduced a House resolution advocating for the charges against him to be dismissed.

"If confirmed as the director of national intelligence, my responsibility would be to ensure the security of our nation's secrets, and would not take actions to advocate for any actions related to Snowden," Gabbard said during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. 

Snowden is a former US National Security Agency official who leaked details of US intelligence's extensive internet and phone surveillance to media outlets including The Washington Post and Britain’s The Guardian in early June 2013.

Simultaneously, Snowden left the US for Hong Kong and then to Russia where he was granted temporary asylum, and later received Russian citizenship, according to a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The US charged him with theft, "unauthorized communication of national defense information," and "willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person." The last two charges were filed in accordance with the 1917 Espionage Act.

Read more: Snowden calls Israeli pager attack 'Indistinguishable from terrorism'