White House: Edward Snowden Should Return to US, Face Charges

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden needs to return to the US and face charges for leaking classified documents to the media and exposing the US government’s mass surveillance program, according to White House spokesman.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden needs to return to the United States and face charges for leaking classified documents to the media and exposing the US government’s mass surveillance program, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"[T]he policy of the Obama administration is that Mr. Snowden should return to the united states and face the very serious charges that he’s facing," Earnest told reporters.

Earnest also reiterated that the White House does not consider Snowden a whistleblower.

"There actually is a specific process that is well established and well protected that allows whistleblowers to raise concerns that they have, particularly when it relates to confidential or classified information to do so in a way that protects national security secrets of the United States. That is not what Mr. Snowden did."

Earlier on Wednesday, three advocacy groups — the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — called on Obama to grant Snowden a pardon.

In 2014, Russia provided Snowden a three-year residence permit.

Snowden faces up to 30 years in a US prison on charges of espionage and theft of US government property if convicted.