U.S. did not seek detention of Snowden journalist's partner: White House

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - U.S. officials did not ask the British government to question the partner of the journalist who first reported secrets leaked by fugitive U.S. intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden, the White House said on Monday.

British authorities did, however, give their U.S. counterparts a "heads up" before detaining the partner of American journalist Glenn Greenwald, Brazilian David Miranda, the White House said.

"This was a decision that they made on their own, and not at the request of the United States," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a briefing. "This is something that they did independent of our direction," he added.

Miranda, 28, was detained on Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport where he was in transit on his way from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro. He was questioned for 9 hours under provisions of British anti-terrorism law but was later released without charge.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/19/us-usa-security-snowden-whitehouse-idUSBRE97I0SM20130819