Snowden Leaves Airport After Russia Grants Asylum

MOSCOW – National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden left the transit zone of a Moscow airport and entered Russia after authorities granted him asylum for one year, his lawyer said today.

Anatoly Kucherena said that Snowden’s whereabouts will be kept secret for security reasons.  The former NSA systems analyst was stuck at Moscow‘s Sheremetyevo airport since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23.

“He now is one of the most sought after men in the world,” Kucherena told reporters at the airport. “The issue of security is very important for him.”

The U.S. has demanded that Russia send Snowden home to face prosecution for espionage, but President Vladimir Putin dismissed the request.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=498448

Edward Snowden Fired, Booz Allen Hamilton Says

WASHINGTON – Consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton said Tuesday that it had fired Edward Snowden “for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy” after the 29-year-old admitted he leaked secrets of the U.S. government’s surveillance programs to the news media.

The company said that Snowden, who had been assigned to a team in Hawaii for less than three months, was earning a salary “at a rate of $122,000.”  Snowden claimed he made about $200,000, a figure that could have included overtime pay and other bonuses.

Snowden, a computer technician from Maryland who previously worked for the CIA and the National Security Agency, had been holed up in a sleek hotel in Hong Kong for weeks before checking out on Monday.  His whereabouts are unknown.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/la-pn-edward-snowden-fired-booz-allen-20130611,0,234483.story

In a related story:

FBI Visits Family Of NSA Leaker In Upper Macungie

The father and stepmother of Edward Snowden, the man who said he leaked news of the government’s classified surveillance program, live in Upper Macungie Township and were visited Monday afternoon by two people who identified themselves as FBI agents.

Karen Snowden, 48, said the couple had been “bombarded” by media, including ABC’s “Good Morning America,” since the story broke Sunday.

Her husband, Lonnie Snowden, 52, briefly spoke to ABC News on Sunday, saying he had last seen his son months ago for dinner and the two parted with a hug.  The elder Snowden told the network he was still “digesting and processing” the news about his son.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pa-ed-snowden-nsa-leak-20130610,0,7199785.story