4 from US meet with Snowden

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 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 national-security officers.

“He spoke about going out and about and getting to understand Russia and its culture and the people,” said Thomas Drake, who started working for the NSA in 2001 and disclosed an electronic espionage program that he saw as invasive. “This is where he lives now, and so where you live is your home.”