The U.S. Department of Justice charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property for revealing the details of NSA global surveillance programs, and requested Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong, where he had been in hiding. The government of Hong Kong claimed the request lacked necessary documentation and allowed Snowden to leave the country for Russia. Snowden, who celebrated his 30th birthday with his lawyers in a Hong Kong safe house over a dinner of pizza, fried chicken, sausages, and Pepsi, reportedly had plans to continue from Moscow to Cuba and on to Venezuela or Ecuador. “The freedom trail,” said Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), “is not exactly China–Russia–Cuba–Venezuela.” The Russian government, which claimed not to know of Snowden’s whereabouts, said it did not have a legal responsibility to block his departure. “I am not,” said Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, “in charge of tickets.”
Weekly Review
Weekly Review
Weekly Review
The U.S. Department of Justice charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property for revealing the details of NSA global surveillance programs, and requested Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong, where he had been in hiding. The government of Hong Kong claimed the request lacked necessary documentation and allowed Snowden to leave the country for Russia. Snowden, who celebrated his 30th birthday with his lawyers in a Hong Kong safe house over a dinner of pizza, fried chicken, sausages, and Pepsi, reportedly had plans to continue from Moscow to Cuba and on to Venezuela or Ecuador. “The freedom trail,” said Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), “is not exactly China–Russia–Cuba–Venezuela.” The Russian government, which claimed not to know of Snowden’s whereabouts, said it did not have a legal responsibility to block his departure. “I am not,” said Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, “in charge of tickets.”