The overblown rhetoric reaches new heights of absurdity: Edward Snowden Full Statement: ‘It Was the Right Thing to Do and I Have No Regrets’.

The theme of the statement is: everyone else is breaking the law, not me.

This statement, by the way, comes at the same time that Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, who died in prison after being tortured and deprived of medical care, was posthumously convicted by a Russian court.

I announce today my formal acceptance of all offers of support or asylum I have been extended and all others that may be offered in the future. With, for example, the grant of asylum provided by Venezuela’s President Maduro, my asylee status is now formal, and no state has a basis by which to limit or interfere with my right to enjoy that asylum. As we have seen, however, some governments in Western European and North American states have demonstrated a willingness to act outside the law, and this behavior persists today. This unlawful threat makes it impossible for me to travel to Latin America and enjoy the asylum granted there in accordance with our shared rights.

This willingness by powerful states to act extra-legally represents a threat to all of us, and must not be allowed to succeed. Accordingly, I ask for your assistance in requesting guarantees of safe passage from the relevant nations in securing my travel to Latin America, as well as requesting asylum in Russia until such time as these states accede to law and my legal travel is permitted. I will be submitting my request to Russia today, and hope it will be accepted favorably.