'The greatest gift of all': Whistleblower Edward Snowden and his wife Lindsay Mills announce birth of baby boy with festive photographs
- Edward Snowden's wife, Lindsay Mills, shared an Instagram post in which the acrobat and blogger posted an image of her holding their newborn baby boy
- The couple blocked the face of their child using a face emoji
- The birth comes after Snowden, 37, was granted permanent residency in Russia
- Snowden is wanted in the United States on espionage charges after he leaked information showing that agents from the NSA were spying on citizens
Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden and his wife Lindsay Mills have announced the birth of their first child, a baby boy.
The news was first shared by Mills in an Instagram post, which included pictures of the newborn in a festive outfit.
The couple decided to obscure the face of their child with an emoji.
Acrobat and blogger Mills also posted several images of her and Snowden with his arms around her baby bump.
Edward Snowden's wife, Lindsay Mills, shared an Instagram post in which the acrobat and blogger posted an image of her holding their newborn baby boy
The couple blocked the face of their child, a son, using a face emoji
'Merry Christmas Baby', Mills tweeted with the message 'The greatest gift of all is the love we share. Happy Holidays from our newly expanded family.'
'Merry Christmas Baby. selfportrait. the greatest gift of all is the love we share. Happy Holidays from our newly expanded family,' Mills wrote.
It was a similar message on Snowden's Twitter account - 'The greatest gift is the love we share,' he wrote together with photo of his wife and kid.
The birth announcement comes just two months after 37-year-old Snowden was granted permanent residency in Russia.
The former US intelligence contractor, who in 2013 revealed that the US government was spying on its citizens, has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations.
Some Republicans in Congress are pushing President Trump to grant clemency to whistleblower Snowden amid a blitz of pardons during his final weeks in the White House.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), as well as recently pardoned Trump associate Roger Stone, have all asked the president in recent days to drop the criminal charges against the former National Security Agency contractor.
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In another photo taken shortly before the birth of their child, Snowden can be seen embracing his wife's baby bump
It was a similar message on Snowden's Twitter account - 'The greatest gift is the love we share.'
Snowden has previously stated that he was hoping to one day return home to the United States.
His lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said in October that his residency permit in Russia was extended and is now indefinite.
The situation has been made possible by recent changes to Russia's immigration law.
Kucherena said the application was filed in April but the process was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Snowden is wanted in the United States on espionage charges after he leaked information showing that agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) were collecting telephone records of millions of US citizens.
The picture is quite different from last year's Christmas when it was just the two of them
When asked whether Snowden planned to apply for Russian citizenship, Kucherena said: 'He will make the decision himself.'
Kucherena said it was 'natural' that Snowden wanted to return to the United States but will only do so when the case against him is closed.
Earlier this month, a US federal judge ordered Edward Snowden to hand over to the US government $5.2million he made from book sales and speeches, according to the Justice Department.
The 37-year-old published a book last year without government approval which breached contracts he had signed with the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
Couple announced they were expecting their first child in October with this artful posting
‘A long time in the making: our greatest collaboration is coming soon,’ the 35-year-old wrote, in October writing ‘citizenfive,’ a reference to the 2014 documentary Citizenfour about Snowden and the NSA spying scandal. Snowden later retweeted the post, writing in response: ‘You made me believe in happy endings. I love you, darlin.’
Snowden was required to submit books and speeches to the government before publication to ensure classified information is not exposed.
In the book, Snowden explains how he viewed himself as a whistleblower by revealing details about the government's mass collection of emails, phone calls and internet activity in the name of national security.
Snowden has so far raked in more than £3.2million ($4.2million) from sales of his book. He has also earned another million dollars through his speeches.
Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said he would 'take a look' at pardoning Snowden but has not made further comment on the matter.
A 2015 petition calling on then president Barack Obama to pardon the whistleblower and privacy advocate was rejected by the White House.
Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden (pictured in 2016) has been granted permanent residency in Russia, his lawyer said in October
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