| From: | War News Updates Editor |
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Reuters: Fugitive ex-NSA contractor Snowden seeks to come home: lawyer
(Reuters) - A Russian lawyer for Edward Snowden said on Tuesday the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor who leaked details of the government's mass surveillance programs was working with American and German lawyers to return home.
In Washington, U.S. officials said they would welcome Snowden's return to the United States but he would have to face criminal charges which have been filed against him.
Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, who has links to the Kremlin, was speaking at a news conference to present a book he has written about his client. Moscow granted Snowden asylum in 2013, straining already tense ties with Washington.
WNU Editor: When it became clear to everyone that Edward Snowden was going to stay in Russia over a year ago, I said in this blog that I did not envy him .... because I knew that he would miss his home country. Regular readers of this blog know that my nationality is Russian, but I am now a Canadian citizen living in Canada. Whenever I feel "homesick" or I miss the old country .... it is very easy for me to just arrange a flight .... and in a few days find myself in Moscow having a meal at my favorite restaurant. Edward Snowden does not have that luxury .... and I doubt that he will have it for a very long time ... if not forever. If he should decide to go back to the U.S. .... what will happen to him is easy to predict. A trial, a conviction, and about 20 years in a federal penitentiary. Is 20 years in jail worth not having a meal at your favorite restaurant .... I guess it all depends on the person.
Update: Apparently the story has being overblown by Moscow .... Reports Snowden Is in Talks to Return Home Are "Much Ado About Nothing,"
Says U.S. Lawyer (Vanity Fair).
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