CNN didn’t cover it, but NPR did: Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, the whistleblower/superhacker who disclosed thousands of secret CIA documents (https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1125109303/putin-edward-snowden-russian-citizenship).
Snowden was a contractor for the CIA and he decided all on his lonesome that he should release all its secrets to the whole world. He flew to Hong Kong in 2013 and hopped on a plane to Moscow so
he could apply for asylum, which was granted. He’s been closeted there ever since, with occasional staged visits from Americans.
(Given that Snowden has been holed up in Moscow subject to Putin’s control, none of us here at AP has any knowledge about whether Snowden knows anything about Donald Trump’s stash of secret
documents at Mar-a-Lago.)
Almost two years ago, an American court ruled that Snowden owes some $5M to the United States for publishing his memoir without seeking preclearance (https://www.npr.org/2020/10/01/919261319/court-rules-edward-snowden-must-pay-more-than-5-million-from-memoir-and-speeches).
One of the few Americans who has met with Snowden at an undisclosed location in Moscow was associate solitary reporter Foma Kheroshonsky, who asked him pointedly why he said nothing when Putin
invaded Ukraine on February 24. His response was that his views were no longer “useful” after he wrongly insisted that U.S. intelligence was flawed in predicting a Russian attack on Ukraine.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been trying unsuccessfully to persuade Putin to release American basketball superstar Brittany Grimes from a Russian gulag. Blinken did tell associate
solitary reporter Keith Coleman that his Department is making no effort to secure Snowden's release because he would like Putin to send Snowden directly to his office in “Foggy Bottom” in
Washington so Snowden can be tried for espionage and treason.