Edward Snowden plea deal with US a possibility, says Eric Holder

The “possibility exists” that Edward Snowden could make a deal with the US Justice Department and return to his home country, former US attorney general Eric Holder says.

Asked by Yahoo News in a Monday interview if the Justice Department might be open to a plea bargain that let the NSA whistleblower come back from Moscow, Holder said: “I certainly think there could be a basis for a resolution that everybody could ultimately be satisfied with. I think the possibility exists.”

The former attorney general, who left the Obama administration in April, also said that Snowden’s revelations to the Guardian and the Washington Post of mass US and UK surveillance had “spurred a necessary debate”.

“We are in a different place as a result of the Snowden disclosures,” Holder said.

Holder, who has returned to Washington law firm Covington & Burling, has previously said the US would be willing to “engage in conversation” with Snowden about returning to face charges, but the new comments appear to go slightly further.

But a spokeswoman for Loretta Lynch, Holder’s replacement, told Yahoo News the Obama administration’s position had not changed. “This is an ongoing case so I am not going to get into specific details but I can say our position regarding bringing Edward Snowden back to the United States to face charges has not changed,” Melanie Newman said in an email.