Edward Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said Wednesday that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had tried to recruit his client when the latter arrived in Moscow in 2013. Snowden, however, rejected the proposition and said that he would never cooperate with any intelligence service.
The lawyer added that while there are trust-based relations between him and Snowden, the whistleblower has never told him about other recruitment attempts.
In 2013, Snowden leaked classified documents exposing a massive surveillance programme by the National Security Agency that collected telephone, email, and internet browsing records on nearly everyone in the United States, despite a law prohibiting spying on US citizens without a court order.
The US government revoked Snowden's passport while he was in Moscow en route to another country. Russia subsequently granted Snowden political asylum.
In 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit to live in Russia, which was later prolonged for three more years.
As a result of Snowden’s revelations, the US Congress passed the Freedom Act in 2015, significantly curbing the mass collection of data.