Fugitive NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden wants Russian citizenship for sake of unborn son, he says

Exiled American whistleblower Edward Snowden is applying for Russian citizenship for the sake of his unborn child, the former intelligence contractor announced Monday.

"After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son," Snowden tweeted. "That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship."

Snowden fled the United States in 2013, after he leaked a trove of documents from the National Security Agency pertaining to government surveillance. In October, he gained permanent residency in Russia. Last week, he announced that he and his wife, Lindsay, are expecting a child — a development that, he wrote, prompted the family to apply for Russian passports.

"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," the 37-year-old Snowden wrote. "And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited."

The Snowdens would be able to hold dual citizenship as a result of a recent Kremlin policy that permits people to become Russian citizens without renouncing their home nationalities.

Snowden in 2013 was charged in the United States for the unauthorized disclosure of national defense information and classified communication intelligence, and for the theft of government property.

He fled to Hong Kong, spurring an international row between the U.S. Justice Department and Hong Kong authorities who ignored the American arrest warrants and allowed Snowden to leave the island. The U.S. quickly revoked Snowden's passport, and the fugitive ran aground at a Moscow airport. The Kremlin granted him asylum and, eventually, permanent residency.

In a separate action, the U.S. government last year sued Snowden over alleged violation of non-disclosure disclosure agreements with both the CIA and NSA when he published his book, "Permanent Record."

In October of this year, the court awarded the government a judgment exceeding $5.2 million and "imposed a constructive trust for the benefit of the United States over those sums and any further monies, royalties, or other financial advantages derived by Snowden from Permanent Record and 56 specific speeches." 

If convicted in the United States on the criminal charges, Snowden faces up to 30 years in prison.

President Trump in August said that he might pardon Snowden, who last year was denied asylum in France.