Edward Snowden, who leaked thousands of top secret documents including information about two U.S. monitoring programs, is among the nominees for this years Nobel Peace Prize. <\/p>\n
Snowden is on the run from the U.S. authorities after he disclosed information about top secret U.S. programs that monitor phone and internet outlets. <\/p>\n
He was granted a Russian visa which was recently extended. <\/p>\n
Snowden was charged last year with a number of federal offenses including communicating classified intelligence. <\/p>\n
President Obama said he is no patriot and there were other ways he could have voiced his concerns about the NSA. <\/p>\n
No I dont think Mr. Snowden is a patriot. As I said in my opening remarks, I called for a thorough review of our surveillance operations before Mr. Snowden made these leaks. My preference, and I think the American peoples preference, would have been for a lawful orderly examination of these laws, said President Obama. <\/p>\n
MORE: I was trained as a spy, Snowden bolsters credentials during exclusive NBC interview <\/p>\n
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