An aircraft thought to be carrying Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday after Hong Kong let the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leave the territory, despite Washington's efforts to extradite him to face espionage charges. According to a source at Russia's Aeroflot airline, Snowden was traveling to Moscow and was planning to go to Venezuela via Cuba.
Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer charged that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely knew and approved of Snowden's flight from Hong Kong to Russia. He said that will "have serious consequences" for a U.S.-Russian relationship already strained over Syria and human rights. "Putin always seems almost eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States - whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden," Schumer told CNN's "State of the Union," adding that China may have had a role as well. "It remains to be seen how much influence Beijing had on Hong Kong," Schumer said. "As you know, they coordinate their foreign policies and I have a feeling that the hand of Beijing was involved here."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Snowden's reported choice to fly later to Cuba and Venezuela undermines his claim to be a fighter for freedom of information. "Everyone of those nations is hostile to the United States. I mean, if he could go to North Korea and Iran, he could round out his government oppression tour," the Michigan Republican said on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Rogers urged the Obama administration to exhaust all legal options to get Snowden back to the United States. "If he really believes he did something good, he should get on a plane, come back and face the consequences of his actions," he said.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Snowden needed to be caught and brought back for trial as secrets he was carrying could do a lot of damage to U.S. interests. "I think we need to know exactly what he has," she told CBS's "Face the Nation." "He could have a lot, lot more that may really put people in jeopardy." Schumer aimed most of his fire at Putin, saying "it is almost certain he know, and likely approved" the flight by Snowden, who had been hiding in Hong Kong since leaking details about U.S. surveillance activities to news media. "What is infuriating here is," Schumer said, was Putin "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape." The New York lawmaker is the No. 3 Senate Democrat.
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U.S. lawmakers slam Russia for abetting Snowden flight
