A former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the
United States for revealing highly classified surveillance programs has landed
in Moscow after fleeing Hong Kong.
Reporter Kevin O'Flynn told host Bob Schieffer on CBS'
"Face the Nation" that Edward Snowden landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo
International Airport at around 9:15 a.m. ET. While his current whereabouts are
unknown, most reports indicate he will not stay in Moscow, but will instead
continue to another destination on Monday.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was
unaware of Snowden's whereabouts or travel plans. Diplomats from at least two
South American nations mentioned as possible final destinations for Snowden -
Ecuador and Venezuela - were seen at the Moscow airport, although it's unclear
whether they had any contact with Snowden.
Both Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Reuters have
cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden will continue
along to Cuba on Monday, and possibly travel from their to Venezuela. Snowden
said in recent interviews that Iceland was also a destination he preferred.
Ecuador has been mentioned as another possible destination.
Early Sunday morning, Hong Kong officials said Snowden had
been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S.
extradition request did not fully comply with their laws. Snowden had been in
hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks since he revealed information on the
highly classified spy programs.
Snowden's flight to Moscow appears to have caught U.S.
officials off guard, with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., calling it "a very big surprise."
"I want to get him caught and brought back for trial,
and I think we need to know exactly what he has - he could have a lot, lot
more," Feinstein said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "But I
think the chase is on."
CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett, also
appearing on "Face the Nation," said: "The United States doesn't
know what happened. It put together what it said and thought were really good
charges that represented everything we could legally prosecute Edward Snowden
under, thought there was an agreement with the Hong Kong authorities...It looks
like there was a technicality."
Interpol said there is no public Red Notice -- an
international alert that an individual is wanted for arrest by an Interpol
member country -- at the moment for Snowden.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson, Nanda Chitre,
told CBS News they had been informed Snowden had left Hong Kong.
"We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong
and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr.
Snowden may be attempting to travel," Chindre said.
WikiLeaks, the organization that has released reams of
classified material online from the U.S. government and others, claims to have
aided Snowden in his flight. They released a statement saying he was bound for
a "democratic nation via a safe route for the purpose of asylum."
An Aeroflot agent told Russia's Interfax news service that
Snowden is traveling with one other person with the surname Harrison, but the
agent declined to release the traveler's full name.
U.K. journalist Sarah Harrison is a known close adviser to
WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, prompting speculation that she was with
Snowden during his flight from Hong Kong. WikiLeaks tweeted out her profile
Sunday morning, as well as another tweet asking followers to read about her
"before the smears arrive."
The White House itself has not commented yet on Snowden's
departure, which came a day after the United States made a formal request for
his extradition and gave a pointed warning to Hong Kong against delaying the
process of returning him to face trial in the U.S.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Snowden
left "on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal
channel."
It acknowledged the U.S. extradition request, but said U.S.
documentation did not "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong
Kong law." It said additional information was requested from Washington,
but since the Hong Kong government "has yet to have sufficient information
to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal
basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."
Russian officials have given no indication that they have
any interest in detaining Snowden or any grounds to do so. Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia would be willing to consider granting asylum
if Snowden were to make such a request.
Russia and the United States have no extradition treaty that
would oblige Russia to hand over a U.S. citizen at Washington's request.
WikiLeaks said it was providing legal help to Snowden at his
request and that he was being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from the
group. Its founder, Julian Assange, who has spent a year inside the Ecuadorean
Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex
crime allegations, told the Sydney Morning Herald that his organization is in a
position to help because it has expertise in international asylum and
extradition law.
The Cuban government had no comment on Snowden's movements
or reports he might use Havana as a transit point.
Michael Ratner, Assange's lawyer, said he didn't know
Snowden's final destination, but said his options were not numerous.
"You have to have a country that's going to stand up to
the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge
range of countries here."
Ratner said a country's extradition treaty with the U.S. is
"not going to be relevant" because the country he ends up going to
will likely be one willing to give him a political exemption.
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