The U.S. government has had no success in its international efforts to secure the return of Edward Snowden for prosecution for leaking. It's not even clear what country he's in now. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, while visiting Vietnam today, tells reporters his country is "analyzing" Edward Snowden's request for asylum. (Credit: Getty Images) Wikileaks editor Julian Assange said today that Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor sought by the U.S. government, was "healthy and safe." But Assange, in a conference call with reporters this morning, would not divulge Snowden's whereabouts, or even which country he might be in by now. Last Friday, the U.S. government unsealed an indictment against Snowden, who has made international headlines over the last few weeks thanks to disclosures about classified NSA surveillance programs he made through the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers. "Edward Snowden is not a traitor," Assange said. "He is not a spy. He is a whistleblower who has told the public an important truth." Snowden reportedly stayed in the transfers area of Terminal E of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport after leaving Hong Kong over the weekend. He had been expected to board a flight to Cuba -- which could take him to possible sanctuary in Venezuela or Ecuador without landing in U.S. territory -- but was not on today's flight to Havana. Whistleblower Edward Snowden (Credit: The Guardian) Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said today, in a press conference while traveling in Vietnam, that the U.S. has refused to extradite bankers to Ecuador, and now his country was free to follow suit. "We are in close contact with the Russian government," he said, according to a report in the Washington Post. "But the specific information as to his whereabouts, we cannot share that at this time, we don't have it and we can't share it." A New York Times report today said Snowden decided to leave Hong Kong after a dinner last Tuesday with Albert Ho, one of his lawyers who has been a prominent local politician. Snowden was "deeply dismayed," the article said, to learn that he could spend years in jail without access to a computer while his request for asylum was being litigated, and by Friday morning had begun to make plans to leave. Snowden was reportedly accompanied on the flight to Moscow by Sarah Harrison, an aide to Assange and close confidante. Ecuador's ambassador to Russia, Patricio Alberto Chavez Zavala, said yesterday he had planned to meet with Snowden and Harrison at the Moscow airport. Ecuador, which has given Assagne sanctuary in its London embassy, has publicly confirmed it has received an "asylum request" from Snowden. Snowden's abrupt departure from Hong Kong appeared to take the U.S. government by surprise. The State Department did not revoke his U.S. passport until Saturday, even though the felony charges against him for leaking classified material were filed on June 14. And it has not posted an INTERPOL Red Alert. Russia's Interfax news agency has reported, citing an anonymous source, that Snowden may have left the country by another route. Speculation about Snowden's whereabouts -- the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald dubbed it a "white Bronco moment" -- has shifted media focus from warrantless domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency to a 30-year old former Booz Allen Hamilton employee. The latest round of leaks last week showed that the NSA has been secretly granted legal authority to operate a massive domestic eavesdropping system that vacuums up Americans' phone calls and Internet communications. Where "targeting" and "minimization" procedures designed to limit the extent to which intelligence analysts can peruse Americans' e-mail and phone calls, even those provide far more surveillance capabilities than U.S. officials have admitted existed. The ACLU responded by saying the leaks show the NSA's spy program is unconstitutional: "The NSA is conducting sweeping surveillance of Americans' international communications, that it is acquiring many purely domestic communications as well, and that the rules that supposedly protect Americans' privacy are weak and riddled with exceptions."
The U.S. government has had no success in its international efforts to secure the return of Edward Snowden for prosecution for leaking. It's not even clear what country he's in now.
Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, while visiting Vietnam today, tells reporters his country is "analyzing" Edward Snowden's request for asylum.
(Credit: Getty Images)
Wikileaks editor Julian Assange said today that Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor sought by the U.S. government, was "healthy and safe."
But Assange, in a conference call with reporters this morning, would not divulge Snowden's whereabouts, or even which country he might be in by now.
Last Friday, the U.S. government unsealed an indictment against Snowden, who has made international headlines over the last few weeks thanks to disclosures about classified NSA surveillance programs he made through the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.
"Edward Snowden is not a traitor," Assange said. "He is not a spy. He is a whistleblower who has told the public an important truth."
Snowden reportedly stayed in the transfers area of Terminal E of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport after leaving Hong Kong over the weekend. He had been expected to board a flight to Cuba -- which could take him to possible sanctuary in Venezuela or Ecuador without landing in U.S. territory -- but was not on today's flight to Havana.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden
(Credit: The Guardian)
Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said today, in a press conference while traveling in Vietnam, that the U.S. has refused to extradite bankers to Ecuador, and now his country was free to follow suit. "We are in close contact with the Russian government," he said, according to a report in the Washington Post. "But the specific information as to his whereabouts, we cannot share that at this time, we don't have it and we can't share it."
A New York Times report today said Snowden decided to leave Hong Kong after a dinner last Tuesday with Albert Ho, one of his lawyers who has been a prominent local politician. Snowden was "deeply dismayed," the article said, to learn that he could spend years in jail without access to a computer while his request for asylum was being litigated, and by Friday morning had begun to make plans to leave.
Snowden was reportedly accompanied on the flight to Moscow by Sarah Harrison, an aide to Assange and close confidante.
Ecuador's ambassador to Russia, Patricio Alberto Chavez Zavala, said yesterday he had planned to meet with Snowden and Harrison at the Moscow airport. Ecuador, which has given Assagne sanctuary in its London embassy, has publicly confirmed it has received an "asylum request" from Snowden.
Snowden's abrupt departure from Hong Kong appeared to take the U.S. government by surprise. The State Department did not revoke his U.S. passport until Saturday, even though the felony charges against him for leaking classified material were filed on June 14. And it has not posted an INTERPOL Red Alert.
Russia's Interfax news agency has reported, citing an anonymous source, that Snowden may have left the country by another route.
Speculation about Snowden's whereabouts -- the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald dubbed it a "white Bronco moment" -- has shifted media focus from warrantless domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency to a 30-year old former Booz Allen Hamilton employee. The latest round of leaks last week showed that the NSA has been secretly granted legal authority to operate a massive domestic eavesdropping system that vacuums up Americans' phone calls and Internet communications.
Where "targeting" and "minimization" procedures designed to limit the extent to which intelligence analysts can peruse Americans' e-mail and phone calls, even those provide far more surveillance capabilities than U.S. officials have admitted existed. The ACLU responded by saying the leaks show the NSA's spy program is unconstitutional: "The NSA is conducting sweeping surveillance of Americans' international communications, that it is acquiring many purely domestic communications as well, and that the rules that supposedly protect Americans' privacy are weak and riddled with exceptions."
