I want to come home, says whistleblower Snowden
September 17, 2019 00:11
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden wants to come home - but claims the US won't give him a fair trial.
The former United States intelligence contractor, who leaked details of a classified mass surveillance program in 2013, has been living in self-imposed exile in Moscow for six years.
"I would like to return to the United States. That is the ultimate goal," Snowden said in an interview with CBS This Morning on Monday.
"But if I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial."
Snowden claimed that the US government has 'refused to guarantee' his freedom because it won't allow him to take a public interest defense.
"I'm not asking for a parade. I'm not asking for a pardon. I'm not asking for a pass. What I'm asking for is a fair trial," he said.
The interview was part of Snowden's press tour for his book, Permanent Record, in which he explains in great detail his decision to reveal secret details about the government's mass collection of Americans' emails, phone calls and internet activity in the name of national security.
He was subsequently charged under the Espionage Act.
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