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He could have gotten pardoned by Obama, but he preferred to remain under the protection of Vladimir Putin.

The only reason Edward Snowden is in Russia right now is that the US cancelled his passport while he was in transit, leaving him stuck there.

That prevented him from returning back to the US?

It makes sense to me.

In a few months I'm not going to even be able to fly around the US with my Texas driver's license. I don't see how you could fly anywhere without a passport.

It would, yes.

The US Embassy in Moscow would happily take him in and provide travel documents, tickets, and an "escort". It's clear Snowden doesn't want to take that approach. (I wouldn't, either.)

Additional to the passport issue others mentioned (and if I remember correctly) he said he would return, given a non-military trial.

I find it a bit difficult to find the source given the fact that these keywords are on top of headlines now.

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