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Snowden To Critics: 'Ask The State Department' Why I'm In Russia
Snowden To Critics: 'Ask The State Department' Why I'm In Russia
Edward Snowden has heard the American critics who find it suspicious that he ended up in Russia after pulling off perhaps the most extraordinary intelligence leak ever. His message to them: take it up with the State Department.
Snowden told NBC News anchor Brian Williams in an interview excerpt that aired Wednesday morning that he "never intended" to land in Russia and said he's "personally surprised" that he wound up there.
"I had a flight booked to Cuba onwards to Latin America and I was stopped because the United States government decided to revoke my passport and trap me in Moscow Airport," he said. "So when people ask why are you in Russia, I say, 'Please ask the State Department."
<...>
In his own interview with NBC on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry panned Snowden's comments.
"For a supposedly smart guy, that’s a pretty dumb answer, frankly," Kerry said. "If Mr. Snowden wants to come back to the United States today, we'll have him on a flight today."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/edward-snowden-ask-the-state-department-why-im-in-russia
Edward Snowden has heard the American critics who find it suspicious that he ended up in Russia after pulling off perhaps the most extraordinary intelligence leak ever. His message to them: take it up with the State Department.
Snowden told NBC News anchor Brian Williams in an interview excerpt that aired Wednesday morning that he "never intended" to land in Russia and said he's "personally surprised" that he wound up there.
"I had a flight booked to Cuba onwards to Latin America and I was stopped because the United States government decided to revoke my passport and trap me in Moscow Airport," he said. "So when people ask why are you in Russia, I say, 'Please ask the State Department."
<...>
In his own interview with NBC on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry panned Snowden's comments.
"For a supposedly smart guy, that’s a pretty dumb answer, frankly," Kerry said. "If Mr. Snowden wants to come back to the United States today, we'll have him on a flight today."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/edward-snowden-ask-the-state-department-why-im-in-russia
Snowden's passport was revoked in Hong Kong, which is why Assange faked the Ecuadorian travel document to allow him to leave HK.
Assange stands by Edward Snowden as Ecuador's Correa reprimands consul
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jun/30/assange-snowden-ecuador-reprimands-consul
Ecuador cools on Edward Snowden asylum as Assange frustration grows
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/28/edward-snowden-ecuador-julian-assange
The story about a Latin American destination is bullshit.
Castro labels libelous report Cuba blocked Snowden travel
(Reuters) - Retired Cuban president Fidel Castro blasted on Wednesday a report in a Russian newspaper that his country buckled to U.S. pressure and blocked former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from traveling through Cuba to exile in Latin America.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/28/us-usa-security-snowden-cuba-idUSBRE97R0JJ20130828
(Reuters) - Retired Cuban president Fidel Castro blasted on Wednesday a report in a Russian newspaper that his country buckled to U.S. pressure and blocked former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from traveling through Cuba to exile in Latin America.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/28/us-usa-security-snowden-cuba-idUSBRE97R0JJ20130828
Assange advised Snowden to go to Russia.
WikiLeaks ✔ @wikileaks
Follow
Germany blocks #Snowden - why we advised #Snowden to take Russia. Not safe elsewhere: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/germany-edward-snowden-nsa-inquiry … donate: http://freesnowden.is/
9:39 AM - 1 May 2014
Follow
Germany blocks #Snowden - why we advised #Snowden to take Russia. Not safe elsewhere: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/germany-edward-snowden-nsa-inquiry … donate: http://freesnowden.is/
9:39 AM - 1 May 2014
Fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is now traveling and lodging at the expense of WikiLeaks, according to the group’s founder, Julian Assange—a move that lawyers say could expose the whistleblowing organization to new legal charges.
WikiLeaks paid for Snowden’s travel from Hong Kong to Moscow, his lodging, and also his legal counsel, Assange said on a call with reporters Monday in response to a question from The Daily Beast.
“It is correct we paid for those arrangements,” said Assange, who declined to specify Snowden’s current whereabouts. “No government or other organization assisted."
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/24/wikileaks-foots-the-bill-for-snowden-s-global-escapades.html
WikiLeaks paid for Snowden’s travel from Hong Kong to Moscow, his lodging, and also his legal counsel, Assange said on a call with reporters Monday in response to a question from The Daily Beast.
“It is correct we paid for those arrangements,” said Assange, who declined to specify Snowden’s current whereabouts. “No government or other organization assisted."
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/24/wikileaks-foots-the-bill-for-snowden-s-global-escapades.html
Greenwald has a complicated relationship with WikiLeaks and Assange, whom he considers an ally, though given Assange's controversial reputation in the United States, he admits that "Julian stepping forward and being the face of the story wasn't great for Snowden." But he credits Assange with having helped save Snowden from almost certain extradition to the U.S. Snowden, however, never wanted to go to Russia, which Assange acknowledges. "Snowden believed that in order to most effectively push for reform in the U.S., Latin America would be the better option," Assange tells me. "He did not want to invite a political attack that he'd 'defected.'"
Assange, however, disagrees. "While Venezuela and Ecuador could protect him in the short term, over the long term there could be a change in government. In Russia, he's safe, he's well-regarded, and that is not likely to change. That was my advice to Snowden, that he would be physically safest in Russia." Assange also claims that Snowden has proved "you can blow the whistle about national security and not only survive, but thrive."
But how much Snowden is thriving in Russia is unknown. According to his Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, he has been learning the language and reading Russian literature. (He recently finished Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.) Snowden also reportedly took a job not long ago at a Russian Internet company. Greenwald, who says he talks with Snowden regularly via encrypted chat, maintains that he knows very few details of Snowden's daily life. "For both his and my own protection, there are questions I stay away from," he says. Radack and Drake recently visited Snowden as part of a whistle-blower delegation; they were whisked to a secret meeting and dinner with him at a stately mansion in or near Moscow. That they were taken in a van with darkened windows, at night, meant they had no idea where they were going. Radack nevertheless insists that Snowden is not being controlled by the Russian intelligence service, the FSB, nor has he become a Russian spy. "Russia treats its spies much better than leaving them trapped in the Sheremetyevo transit zone for over a month," Radack recalled Snowden darkly joking to her.
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http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/snowden-and-greenwald-the-men-who-leaked-the-secrets-20131204
Assange, however, disagrees. "While Venezuela and Ecuador could protect him in the short term, over the long term there could be a change in government. In Russia, he's safe, he's well-regarded, and that is not likely to change. That was my advice to Snowden, that he would be physically safest in Russia." Assange also claims that Snowden has proved "you can blow the whistle about national security and not only survive, but thrive."
But how much Snowden is thriving in Russia is unknown. According to his Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, he has been learning the language and reading Russian literature. (He recently finished Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.) Snowden also reportedly took a job not long ago at a Russian Internet company. Greenwald, who says he talks with Snowden regularly via encrypted chat, maintains that he knows very few details of Snowden's daily life. "For both his and my own protection, there are questions I stay away from," he says. Radack and Drake recently visited Snowden as part of a whistle-blower delegation; they were whisked to a secret meeting and dinner with him at a stately mansion in or near Moscow. That they were taken in a van with darkened windows, at night, meant they had no idea where they were going. Radack nevertheless insists that Snowden is not being controlled by the Russian intelligence service, the FSB, nor has he become a Russian spy. "Russia treats its spies much better than leaving them trapped in the Sheremetyevo transit zone for over a month," Radack recalled Snowden darkly joking to her.
- more -
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/snowden-and-greenwald-the-men-who-leaked-the-secrets-20131204
Remember, Snowden was entertained at the Russian embassy in Hong Kong.
MOSCOW—President Vladimir Putin conceded that Edward Snowden contacted Russian diplomats in Hong Kong a few days before boarding a plane to Moscow, but said that no agreement was reached to shelter him and that the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor decided on his own to come to Russia.
Mr. Putin had previously said that Mr. Snowden's arrival at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on June 23 was a "complete surprise."
But in an interview with Russia's Channel One and the Associated Press, released on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he had some prior knowledge that the fugitive might be headed Russia's way.
"Mr. Snowden first appeared in Hong Kong and met with our diplomatic representatives," Mr. Putin said. "It was reported to me that there was such an employee, an employee of the security services. I asked, 'What does he want?' He fights for human rights, for freedom of information and challenges violations of human rights and violations of the law in the United States. I said, 'So what?' "
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http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323623304579054890606102138
Mr. Putin had previously said that Mr. Snowden's arrival at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on June 23 was a "complete surprise."
But in an interview with Russia's Channel One and the Associated Press, released on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he had some prior knowledge that the fugitive might be headed Russia's way.
"Mr. Snowden first appeared in Hong Kong and met with our diplomatic representatives," Mr. Putin said. "It was reported to me that there was such an employee, an employee of the security services. I asked, 'What does he want?' He fights for human rights, for freedom of information and challenges violations of human rights and violations of the law in the United States. I said, 'So what?' "
- more -
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323623304579054890606102138
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