NBC: Moscow Considers Turning Over Snowdon as “Gift’ to Trump

Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool via EPA and / Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

February 11, 2017, 10:34 AM (IDT)

US intelligence has collected information that Russia is considering turning over Edward Snowden as a “gift” to President Donald Trump — who has called the NSA leaker a “spy” and a “traitor” who deserves to be executed. According to a senior U.S. official, Snowden’s handover is one of various ploys to “curry favor” with Trump. No official in Washington or Moscow has confirmed this report.

Snowden responded on Twitter: “Finally: irrefutable evidence that I never cooperated with Russian intel, No country trades away spies, as the rest would fear they’re next.”

Snowdon, who lives in political asylum in Russia, faces federal charges that carry a minimum of 30 years in prison. Employed as a contractor by a National Security Agency in Hawaii, he began stealing top-secret documents that he gave to journalists in 2013, exposing details of US domestic surveillance programs. His case divided opinion in America between those who hailed him as a whistleblower and called for his pardon, while others condemned him as a traitor.

Video Published on Feb 10, 2017

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