The United States was not involved in the decision to detain the partner of a Guardian journalist in connection to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden but the Obama administration was given a “heads up” by the British government, White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday.
“The U.S. was not involved in that decision or in that action,” Earnest said during a daily press briefing, referring questions to British authorities. “This is a decision they made on their own and not at the request of the United States.”
London police detained David Miranda, the partner of reporter Glenn Greenwald, under anti-terror legislation for nine hours on Sunday, the maximum time allowed under the law.
“I stayed in a room, there were six different agents, entering and leaving, who spoke with me,” Miranda said. “They asked questions about my whole life, about everything. They took my computer, video game, cellphone, memory thumb drives, everything.”
