Edward Snowden is seeking Russian citizenship for his wife and their unborn child.
“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son,” the former National Security Agency contractor shared on social media on Sunday. “That’s why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we’re applying for dual US-Russian citizenship.”
After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That’s why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we’re applying for dual US-Russian citizenship. https://t.co/cCgT0rr37e
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) November 1, 2020
“Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love — including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited,” he added. “Our greatest wish is that, wherever our son lives, he feels at home.”
The decision to seek dual citizenship came weeks after he was granted permanent residency rights by the Russian government. Snowden, who worked at the CIA prior to a stint as a contractor for the NSA, was supposedly not interested in pursuing citizenship, according to his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena. In 2013, Snowden left his job with the NSA in Hawaii and flew to Hong Kong, where he disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists. Snowden revealed not just domestic surveillance programs but exposed national security operations around the world by the United States and its allies.
He has been charged with violating the Espionage Act.
The 37-year-old has lived in exile in Moscow since the Russian government granted him asylum in June 2013.
President Trump has promised to “take a very good look at” pardoning Snowden, but talk of the whistleblower’s freedom has slowed as the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 election season has taken center stage. Attorney General William Barr rebuked the idea, saying he is “vehemently opposed” to pardoning Snowden, whom he declared a “traitor.”
