TOMMY NATION POLITICS TUESDAY LIVESTREAM: "LIVESTREAM SNOWDEN COUNTDOWN..."

Former US intelligence contractor and fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted permanent residency in Russia, his lawyer said on Thursday. Snowden revealed in 2013 that the US government was spying on its citizens, has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations. His lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said on Thursday that his residency permit was extended and is now indefinite, a situation made possible by recent changes to Russia's immigration law. Kucherena said the application was filed in April but the process was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Snowden is wanted in the United States on espionage charges after he leaked information showing that agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) were collecting telephone records of millions of US citizens. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said he would "take a look" at pardoning Snowden but has not made further comment on the matter. A 2015 petition calling on then-president Barack Obama to pardon the whistleblower and privacy advocate was rejected by the White House.