Snowden left for Russia "with a cornucopia of American intelligence documents" on four laptops

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. It showed up in a Google News search with the quote

Since the NYT limits the number of articles you can view without subscribing, I didn't open the link when I posted, just copied it. You're right that it now doesn't say that. Here is a reprint on another site, from the 'New York Times News Service':

Dmitri Peskov, a spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, said late Sunday that Kremlin officials were not aware of Snowden's flight plans.

"We have nothing to do with this story," he said.

A Russian law enforcement official quoted anonymously by Interfax said that Russian authorities had taken unusual measures to protect Snowden.

"This was done so that nothing threatened Edward Snowden, so that he could spend the night calmly in a capsule hotel and fly to Russia without problems," the official was quoted as saying.

Snowden is reportedly carrying four laptop computers with a cornucopia of U.S. intelligence documents that he downloaded to a thumb drive this spring while working in Hawaii for the National Security Agency as an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton. The Guardian newspaper of Britain disclosed a week ago that Snowden provided the newspaper with documents showing that during a conference in London in 2009, the U.S. was able to access the communications of Dmitry Medvedev, then the Russian president and now the prime minister — a disclosure that will almost certainly cause Russia to review its codes and other procedures for top leaders.

Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, said he considered it likely that Snowden would remain in Russia, a country that is increasingly positioning itself as a protector of people like Assange, whom Western governments wish to prosecute.

"Russia is turning into a haven — virtually, intellectually and physically — for those who have an axe to grind with the West, who are whistleblowers or have problems with Western authorities," he said. "It's the only country in the world that at this point can afford it, or thinks it can afford it."

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/3852745-snowden-in-russia-reportedly-seeking-asylum-in-ecuador/

The NYT puts at the bottom of their current page "A version of this article appeared in print on June 24, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Traces Path As N.S.A. Leaker Flees Hong Kong." It seems they've update the version on the web - those 2 people quoted either side of the 'cornucopia' reference now appear as:

“We have nothing to do with this story,” said Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin. “I am not in charge of tickets. I don’t approve or disapprove plane tickets. We’re not the proper people to address this question to.”

But Dmitri V. Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said Mr. Snowden could remain in Moscow. “Russia is turning into a haven — virtually, intellectually and physically — for those who have an ax to grind with the West, who are whistle-blowers or have problems with Western authorities,” he said. “It’s the only country in the world that at this point can afford it, or thinks it can afford it.”