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The Globe and Mail reports that Edward Snowden's Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena says the fugitive former US spy agency contractor who leaked details of the government’s mass surveillance programs was working with American and German lawyers to return home. “I won’t keep it secret that he … wants to return back home. And we are doing everything possible now to solve this issue. There is a group of U.S. lawyers, there is also a group of German lawyers and I’m dealing with it on the Russian side.” Kucherena added that Snowden is ready to return to the States, but on the condition that he is given a guarantee of a legal and impartial trial. The lawyer said Snowden had so far only received a guarantee from the US Attorney General that he will not face the death penalty. Kucherena says that Snowden is able to travel outside Russia since he has a three-year Russian residency permit, but "I suspect that as soon as he leaves Russia, he will be taken to the US embassy."
(Score: 2) by MrGuy on Wednesday March 04 2015, @04:42PM
I don't see it. There's no immunity from prosecution in the United States that comes from the mere fact of holding elective office. Certainly not immunity from actions that were performed as a private citizen prior to election.
In some jurisdictions, it might be possible that it's not OK to bring legal action against individuals based on how they performed the duties of that office (i.e. they're not privately liable for actions taken on behalf of the public). But that wouldn't apply - Snowden didn't hold any elective office at the time of the disclosures, and certainly not one where his official duties included releasing classified information.
In SOME cases, courts will grant a stay of certain actions against elected officials while in office due to public interest of not having the official distracted (e.g. a private legal action against the president of the United States might be stayed temporarily). However, the Clinton scandals show us that even that has some significant limits.
A better option might be to be granted citizenship outside the US, renounce US citizenship, and be permitted to return to the US as a foreign diplomat (e.g. as an advisor to the Ecuadorian permanent mission to the UN) with diplomatic immunity. However, that route grants the US the right to expel him (which would probably be exercised).