With Edward Snowden ostensibly still in Moscow, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) asserted Monday that the “old KGB officer” Russian President Vladimir Putin is “directing the show” in the increasingly bizarre case of the National Security Agency leaker.
Nelson took to the Senate floor to address a bill aimed at reforming the nation’s immigration system, but said he felt compelled to address the “international drama” surrounding Snowden. The former government contractor had reportedly registered for a flight Monday from Moscow to Cuba, but he did not board the plane.
“But the fact that he is now in Moscow and did not get on the airplane for Cuba tells me that the old KGB officer, now president of Russia, Putin is directing the show,” Nelson said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if the president of Russia is not giving the orders to milk him for every piece of information that he has. And if he really doesn’t have anything, then I think the president of Russia is going to decide whether or not he wants to have a good relationship with the United States and might allow him to be extradited to the U.S.”
Nelson closed by reiterating, as he has previously, that he believes Snowden committed treason.
