U.S. yanks passport of whistle-blower Edward Snowden as he seeks asylum in Ecuador

Snowden is said to be seeking asylum in Ecuador

His revoked passport could complicate - but not thwart - his travel plans

Snowden is being helped by attorneys for the organization WikiLeaks

The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked.

A U.S. official on Sunday said Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. Snowden's travel plans could be complicated – but not thwarted – by a lack of passport.



The U.S. official said that if a senior official in a country or airline ordered it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport.

Passport denied: The U.S. government has revoked the passport of whistle-blower Edward Snowden

The former contractor is said to be in Moscow and his allies at anti-secrecy WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum.

The U.S. official would only discuss the passport on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Earlier today, an Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong believed to be carrying Edward Snowden landed in Moscow.



Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on Flight SU213, which landed on Sunday afternoon.

On the move: A plane believed to carry Edward Snowden landed in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport Sunday. He's now believed to be headed to Ecuador

Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks since he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group said it was working with him and he was bound for an unnamed 'democratic nation via a safe route for the purpose of asylum.'

The White House had no immediate comment about the departure, which came a day after the United States made a formal request for his extradition and gave a pointed warning to Hong Kong against delaying the process of returning him to face trial in the U.S. The Department of Justice said only that it would 'continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel.' The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Snowden left 'on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel.'