4 Americans Meet Snowden to Give Him an Award

(AP) 4 Americans meet Snowden to give him an award
By CARO KRIEL
Associated Press
MOSCOW
Four former U.S. government officials who met with former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden said Thursday that he is adjusting to life in Russia and expresses no regrets about leaking highly classified information. Separately, Snowden’s father arrived to see his son.

The Americans, who once worked for the CIA, FBI, Justice Department and NSA, have criticized the U.S. government and in some cases exposed what they believed was wrongdoing in the security agencies. All supporters of Snowden, they are the first Americans known to have met with him since he was granted asylum in Russia in August.

In interviews with The Associated Press, they described spending the previous evening with Snowden to present him with an award given annually by a group of retired CIA officers.

Snowden’s father, Lon, did not say when or where he would meet his 30-year-old son, but expressed optimism about his situation.

The elder Snowden said he doubts his son will return to the United States, where he is charged with violating the Espionage Act for disclosing the NSA’s surveillance of phone and Internet usage around the world.

The four former U.S. officials refused to say where they met with Snowden or where he is living.

Like Snowden, Drake was indicted under the Espionage Act, but the felony charges were dropped before trial and he was convicted on a lesser charge and sentenced to one year of probation and community service.

Drake and the other Americans _ Raymond McGovern, Jesselyn Radack and Coleen Rowley _ said Snowden was in good spirits and still believes he did the right thing in disclosing the NSA surveillance program.

All but McGovern are pass recipients of the Sam Adams Award, named for a CIA analyst during the Vietnam War who accused the U.S. military of underestimating the strength of the enemy for political purposes. The award is given annually by the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence.

The winner of the award in 2010 was WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.

McGovern, a retired CIA officer, said the anti-secrecy group had facilitated their trip to Moscow and that WikiLeaks staffer Sarah Harrison, who had arrived with Snowden from Hong Kong in June, remained by his side.

The Americans said they saw no evidence that Snowden was under the control of Russian security services, as many in the U.S. government believe.

Snowden’s asylum status has strained the already tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia.

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Lynn Berry contributed to this story.