Posted on 10/22/2020 2:47:28 PM PDT by RandFan
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has granted U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden permanent residency rights, his lawyer said on Thursday, a step towards Russian citizenship if he wants it.
Snowden, 37, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency where he was a contractor.
U.S. authorities have for years wanted Snowden returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges brought in 2013.
“His (Russian) residency permit was expiring and we asked to extend it,” Anatoly Kucherena, his Russian lawyer, told Reuters. Kucherena said the coronavirus pandemic had made the process longer than usual.
“We submitted the documents in April and we got the permanent residency rights (on Thursday),” he said.
Separately, Kucherena told the TASS news agency that Snowden was not considering applying for a Russian passport at this stage.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in August he was considering a pardon for Snowden.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Anyone know what he does for work over there?
Does he get a stipend from the Russkies?
He’ll hate the food.
He works in the private sector there I believe.
“... revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations...”
This was ordered by Obama. To spy on American citizens and then they have the gall to accuse Snowden of espionage. What a joke.
It’s also why Microsoft was allowed to place all that spyware on its Windows 10 operating system. TO SPY ON AMERICANS!!!!
Good for him.
I’m guessing he makes some good bucks on the side doing interviews
The US security apparatus would kill him, so he has little choice but stay in Russia.
Good. Hope Trump pardons him.
If he can afford the good stuff, Russian food is delish.
When we lived in SF, we’d go to the pricey Russian Renaissance restaurant for birthdays and other special occasions.
SF’s Russian population was mostly the aristocrats who ran away from the glorious revolution.
I’d think it’s better than prison food, or Ecuadorian embassy closet food.
He can stay there and rot. He’s not a good guy.
Exactly, bury him next to Kim Philby...
He *should* apply. He’s not going to receive a fair deal anywhere in the West, just like Assange. Unless he wants to serve his sentence, he should accept Russian citizenship and make the best of it.
Everyone know the Kenyan and the Clinton Crime family is off limits and when Snowden crossed the line he had to leave quickly or face Arkencide no matter if he was telling the truth
This was ordered by Obama. To spy on American citizens and then they have the gall to accuse Snowden of espionage. What a joke.
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What Eddy Snowjob really did was not played up in the media - which so many here believe true in his case, but untrustworthy and dishonest in most other cases. Awkward ...
The media revealed about his exploit what was already in the public domain and had been for decades - that no-nothings did not know and understand this is on them. NSA has been collecting ALL electronic emissions worldwide since the 1950s - to include all landline phone calls in the US. Your data was never private - modern computers just made it easier to discover in all the noise.
What Eddy took was everything - Methods and Means of intel collection (the crown jewels so to speak) for his Chinese handlers - everyone conveniently forgets that he fled to Mainland China first, and that when they were done with him, they kicked this People’s Hero out, but not before he fled to the Russian embassy. He gave the stolen Intel to both of those countries and to Iran, AQ and ISIS. Along with the data he stole, were also the names, organizations, operations of US agents working in those respective spheres - many of whom where shot, thanks to the Peoples Hero’s valiant efforts.
What the Press did sprinkle “snow” all over the story to make Eddy Snowjob into the Peoples Hero. No one mentioned that the cost of building all that he destroyed (or the lives taken) can never be recovered or used again; instead, do do the same job - if that’s even possible - still more millions and billions of dollars would have to be spent (and more people put their lives on the line) to keep the people and the country safe.
Eddy Snowjob is in the same league as Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Harry Gold, Herbert Fuchs, Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, and Reality Winner to name a few. Don’t feel sorry for him - he was well paid in dollars and women. The more you praise this creep, the more you encourage others to follow in his footsteps, the less secure the country becomes, the more danger you face. China’s near total penetration of America didn’t happen in a vacuum, but was facilitated by creeps like Snowjob betraying their homeland, allowing communist organizations like Antifa and BLM to germinate and grow in the dark. You praised him, you got the fruits.
Being shot on sight is not nearly equal to the damage he did to national security.
You would preemptively pardon someone, without a thorough investigation? What if he was a spy all along?
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