WASHINGTON — What, me worry?
President Obama tried yesterday to downplay his administration’s humiliating inability to grab NSA leaker Edward Snowden by dismissing the world’s most famous fugitive as a “29-year-old hacker” unworthy of a dramatic response by the United States.
“I’m not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker,” Obama said, when asked on a visit to Senegal whether he’d use military assets to keep Snowden from leaving Moscow, where he’s holed up in an airport transit area.
Obama also ruled out trying to leverage Snowden’s transfer by granting geopolitical concessions, shooting down the idea of a swap for the return of the former government contractor.
“I’m not going to have one case with a suspect who we’re trying to extradite suddenly be elevated to the point where I’ve got to start doing wheeling and dealing and trading on a whole host of other issues, simply to get a guy extradited so he can face the justice system,” he said.
Obama — who earlier referred questions about Snowden, now 30, to the Justice Department — said he hasn’t spoken to the leaders of Russia and China about him because “I shouldn’t have to.”
“This is something that routinely is dealt with between law-enforcement officials in various countries. And this is not exceptional from a legal perspective,” the president contended.
Then he scolded the press for fixating on the issue. “Now, I get why it’s a fascinating story from a press perspective, and I’m sure there will be a made-for-TV movie somewhere down the line,” Obama intoned.
Snowden was able to fly from Hong Kong to Moscow despite US demands that he be turned over for spilling national secrets.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin refusing to give him up, global attention focused to how and when Snowden would try to fly to Ecuador or another country, possibly through Cuba.
Some lawmakers were urging Obama to get tough.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the House Homeland Security chairman, called for putting “every available pressure on Russia to hand this guy over” — and isn’t ruling out snatching Snowden from under his protectors’ control.
“If the diplomatic pressure points fail, the only option you have left is rendition,” he said, adding that grabbing Snowden by force was a last resort.