“Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked U.S. security secrets and is now a fugitive, met Monday morning with Russian diplomatic officials and handed them an appeal to 15 countries for political asylum,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said a Russian official: “It was a desperate measure on his part after Ecuador disavowed his political protection credentials.”
Meanwhile, the AP reports Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Snowden “will have to stop leaking U.S. secrets if he wants to get asylum in Russia, something he says Snowden doesn’t want to do.”
Related: Joe Nye speaks about the leadership challenges of dealing with a leaker.

