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Snowden and NSA leaks

Attorney says no attempts from Trump administration to contact Snowden

In the United States, Snowden is charged under two articles of the spying law

© Kostas Baltas, InTime Sports via AP

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. The new US administration has not yet contacted Edward Snowden, a former employee of the US National Security Agency (NSA), Snowden’s attorney Anatoly Kucherena told TASS on Monday.

Read also

NSA whistleblower's attorney dismisses Snowden-Bout spy swap as rumors

"No, no one tried to contact him. I believe that Snowden clarified his position which has not changed. Nothing has changed actually, he still lives and works in Russia," the attorney said.

Kucherena added that Snowden continued to learn Russian.

"He started to learn the Russian language and he can already speak a little of it," the attorney said.

Who is Edward Snowden?

In 2013, Snowden, a civil employee of the National Security Agency, disclosed electronic spying methods used by US secret services, including tapping the telephones of foreign leaders. In his attempts to escape persecution by the US authorities, Snowden asked more than 20 countries, including Russia, for political asylum. On August 1, 2014, he was granted a residence permit in Russia and has since remained in the country.

In the United States, Snowden is charged under two articles of the spying law. Each of the charges is punishable with a maximum of ten years in prison. US officials have said more than once that they consider Snowden to be a traitor and have no intention of pardoning him as he caused serious damage to the national security.

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